YuGiOh! GX Shuffle
by The Code Cruncher
Summary: A fan series written in the style of the anime. A teenage girl will begin her journey to become a true duelist, and realize that the road of life is full of bumps and Uturns. Follow her adventures in Duel Academy, as she faces the toughest challenges.
1. Turn 1

Turn 1: The Ultimate Test – The Start of an Exciting Year!

It is a warm summer day in Domino City; everyone is outside doing many different activities. Some people are playing with Frisbees, some are walking their dogs, and some are even playing Duel Monsters. Today is the day that the illustrious Duel Academy holds its practical exams.

A teenage girl walks briskly through the streets; she is wearing a brown tee shirt with a white outline of wings on the back. A wind kicks up; blowing her long chestnut brown hair, and her bright red skirt. She is wearing a Duel Disk, reminiscent of the ones worn by Yuigi and co during the Battle City tournament. This is Beatrix, and she is going to be taking the Duel Academy practical exam.

This year, the practical exams are being held in Kaiba Land, in the Blue-Eyes White Dome. Beatrix could not be any more excited; she had never been the Kaiba Land, and had heard that it was like heaven for Duel Monsters players. She was so excited that she never gave it any thought as to why the practical exams would take place where the pros duel for the championship.

All of the prospective Duel Academy students gathered outside of the Blue-Eyes White Dome. The door is locked, and all of the duelists are wondering when the exams would start. After ten minutes of waiting, a monitor flickers to life, and Seto Kaiba's face filled the screen. The billionaire had aged, but did not look very different from when he founded the school. Those who had stayed perked their ears for the message, knowing that it would be worth the wait.

"Duelists, why are you here? That is the question you have asked yourselves before coming here. Some enter Duel Academy to become the next World Champion, others have much higher goals: to become the Duel King. Or, perhaps your goal has nothing to do with dueling. Great card designers have come from Duel Academy, and have created the cards that you are playing now." Comes the voice of Kaiba, "These doors welcome those of you who are ready to walk boldly into the future. To you who have even a single grain of doubt; leave now." Kaiba's voice suddenly became deep and imposing, "If you are not one hundred percent confident in yourself, the world will not accept you, and neither will Duel Academy. To those who will walk bravely forward, there is a special challenge. Normally, only those who graduate from the preparatory school enter in Obelisk Blue, however, for those willing to face the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, you will be admitted into the blue dorm. This will be different from the normal exam; you must win in order to be admitted to the school. You will be turned away if you lose, that is the nature of Duel Monsters; you either risk it all, or get nothing. That is all." With that, the monitor turns black.

A humming noise emanates from the doors, signaling that they were unlocked. The people who had gathered around it stood there bewildered by what the CEO of Kaiba Corp. had said. Some had been intimidated, and began to leave. The rest watched those who were leaving, and started having feelings of doubt also. Beatrix saw this, and felt that she had to do something. She walked over to the doors, which opened automatically for her. She stepped through them, and spoke up to catch the attention of those who were left, "Everybody! Don't let your resolve falter! I will take Mr. Kaiba up on his challenge, so please, keep your spirits up!" With that, Beatrix walked into the Blue-Eyes White Dome, and walked straight to the dueling platform where she expected Kaiba to be waiting. Everyone she had addressed was intrigued by this, and followed her inside; their fears completely forgotten. She ran through a door, and stopped abruptly when she saw that she stood on a small ledge before a large pit.

Indeed, she did find Kaiba who stood across from her on a similar ledge, but it was not what she was expecting. Kaiba stood beside a strange looking droid with ten card readers on its body, "What is this?" She wondered to herself.

"This is a dueling droid; it has been programmed with dueling strategies and has my Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Did you really expect that I would duel you? The chance of you beating this challenge is slim enough, if I was to duel you, there would be no chance." Kaiba said, as if knowing what Beatrix was wondering.

Beatrix stared at the legendary duelist ahead of her, "Then why are you here? Something tells me that you want a challenge. Well, I'm here, and I challenge you Mr. Kaiba!"

Kaiba smirked arrogantly, she had awoken the duelist inside of him, and now it was time for one more duel. He called for an attendant to bring him a duel disk, and he took his deck from the droid. He readied his duel disk, and drew five cards, "Challengers go first." The CEO of Kaiba Corp. said.

"Okay!" Beatrix says as she draws her sixth card.

Murmurs could be heard from the spectators, they all wondered if this girl would be able to stand up to Seto Kaiba, a legendary duelist. Kaiba was known for his cunning and excellent card play; his strategies were so intricate that no amateur could possibly figure them out. Beatrix knew that this was going to be one of the biggest challenges of her entire career, one she did not know she could beat. She would have been content in Ra Yellow or Slifer Red, but she took on this challenge to inspire her fellow duelists, and inspire she was going to do!

"I'll set a monster face-down in defense mode, and set another card face-down. Your turn Mr. Kaiba!" She said politely.

Kaiba draws a card, "A weak opening move." He said, and the audience was inclined to agree, "I summon Sonic Bird in attack mode, but that's not all, because when I summon Sonic Bird, it brings me a spell from my deck. A ritual spell card called Ritual of White Dragon!" A bird with rockets strapped to its back flies in from the sky, and in its talons is the ritual spell card Kaiba had mentioned, "Now, I'll play Ritual of White Dragon, and offer Sonic Bird as a sacrifice to summon Paladin of White Dragon!"

Sonic Bird fades out of sight, and a blue dragon with a knight in shining armour shines to life on Kaiba's side of the field. The dragon gives a loud roar, and the knight brings his sword in front of his face in a dignified manner.

Paladin of White Dragon ATK 1900 DEF 1200

Beatrix looks at the intimidating monster in front of her as Kaiba continues with his move, "Now, I'll attack your face-down monster! White Dragon Strike!"

The dragon flies by Beatrix's face-down monster and the knight stabs it with his sword. The card shatters without flipping face-up, "The holy sword of the paladin destroys my monster without flipping it face-up." Beatrix says, "Skelengel's effect won't be helping me today."

"Now, I'll activate my monsters second effect! I sacrifice Paladin of White Dragon to summon a monster from my deck. A monster known as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba exclaims.

The Paladin of White Dragon disappears, and taking its place, is Kaiba's trademark monster. The massive dragon appears on the field, its very presence increasing the gravity in the room. The dragon stares at Beatrix, who cannot help but be a little intimidated by the awesome dragon in front of her. More than her intimidation, however, was Beatrix's admiration for the monster.

"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon, mighty dragon of the light! I am honoured to be in the presence of this magnificent creature!" Beatrix swoons.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon ATK 3000 DEF 2500

Kaiba is uncertain as whether or not to heckle Beatrix's embarrassing behavior. On one hand, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is the most intimidating card in the game, Kaiba's holograms made sure of that, and it is funny to see Beatrix react in such an odd fashion. On the other hand, Kaiba has the upper hand, and how he loves to have the upper hand.

"You're lucky that I can't attack now, so I end my turn." Kaiba says in his usual grace.

"Okay, my turn!" Beatrix says as she draws and gasps when she sees what card it is, "Oh! It's you!"

Before she left for Kaiba Land that morning, Beatrix's father stopped her as she was walking out the door, "Beatrix, I have a gift for you before you leave. This card saw me through a lot of my duels and hardships in life, and I want you to have it now. This is the guardian angel of our family, and he will watch over you through your hardships."

Beatrix looks at the card her father gave her, here most cherished card, and after a few moments Kaiba becomes annoyed with his opponent's hesitation, "Are you going to play your card or aren't you?" He shouts across the gap to Beatrix.

This snaps Beatrix out of her reflection, and she looks up with a sorry look on her face, "Oh! Right," Beatrix says as she takes the card she just drew, and exchanges it with another card from her hand, "I play the spell card Shinato's Ark! I sacrifice Majestic Mech – Goryu in my hand to call forth Shinato, King of a Higher Plane!"

A bright stream of light shines from the heavens, and from it descends the leader of the angels. The blue-skinned creature settles in the air above the Blue-Eyes White Dragon; the angel's face displays serenity, even in the face of Kaiba's powerful monster. Kaiba recognizes this monster as the deck master of his adoptive father's son, Noah. He had hated it ever since, but when Beatrix summoned it; it seemed to have a different feel to it.

Shinato, King of a Higher Plane ATK 3300 DEF 3000

Beatrix points at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, "I'd hate to have to attack a mighty creature of light, but I have to win this duel for my fellow students. Attack Kaiba's Blue-Eyes with Hand of Holiness!"

Shinato rears back with its right fist, and thrusts it at Kaiba's dragon. A bright beam of blue light blasts forth from the angel's fist, and pierces through the mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The dragon explodes, and the beam that pierced it hits Kaiba.

Kaiba's Life Points: 3700

"Ugh, my Blue-Eyes!" Kaiba grunts as his monster explodes.

"I end my turn by setting a card face-down!" Beatrix says, her confidence building since she had her family's guardian angel watching over her.

The prospective students looked on in awe as Seto Kaiba's favorite monster was destroyed by Beatrix in a single move. A duelist just like them had entered into a game of one-upmanship with one of the dueling legends, and as of this moment was winning! Their spirits rise as they watch this duel.

Kaiba sneers as he draws his card, "Activate trap, Call of the Haunted!" Kaiba's signature monster rises again, it roars in anger at Shinato's audacity to destroy it, "Next I'll use the spell card Polymerization!"

Beatrix's eyes widen, "You don't mean?!" She exclaims.

"Yes! I will fuse the Blue-Eyes on my field with the two in my hand to create a monster without peer. The unparalleled Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba says with satisfaction.

Two more Blue-Eyes White Dragons shine to the field on both sides of the one that was already there. A swirling portal opens amongst the dragons, and the three dragons merge together thanks to the magic of Polymerization. The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon now appears, its three heads rising to the heavens and letting out an ear shattering roar in a declaration of victory.

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon ATK 4500 DEF 3800

Everyone, including Beatrix this time, is in complete awe of the newly created fusion monster. Beatrix was prepared from just about anything, but this was the ultimate dragon; very few duelists have ever faced the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and every one of them was defeated by it. The only duelist who had ever defeated it on record was the King of Games, but he is the best duelist in the world, not some kid who had been unfortunate enough to make herself a martyr.

A cold chill rushed through Beatrix's body as the grim reality of it all hit her like a ton of bricks; she was dueling a legendary duelist, and on top of that, he was Seto Kaiba, rival to Yugi Motou. She was no match for him at this point in her career. It was at this point that something strange happened. She did not know why, or how, but something about the card her father gave her that morning caught her attention. She looked at her hand, and saw it, remembering what it was and how she could use it. She smiled at her card, knowing what she had to do.

Kaiba laughs, "Now my Blue-Eyes, destroy her Shinato, King of a Higher Plane!"

Beatrix's eyes narrow with resolve, "I activate my trap card, Negate Attack! Even if it is the ultimate dragon, my trap will still stop its attack and end your battle phase!" She says with confidence.

Kaiba growls silently, "That only saved you one turn. My Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon will attack you next turn!"

"Not gonna happen, you see, because I activated a counter trap, my monster's effect activates." Beatrix says, her voice suddenly becoming serious.

"What do you mean? Shinato doesn't have an effect like that!" Kaiba replies coolly.

Beatrix smirks, "Think outside the box, not a monster on my field, a monster in my hand!"

Kaiba was shocked, "Say what?!"

"I'm talking about this," Beatrix turns the only card in her hand over so Kaiba can see, "My family's guardian angel, Voltanis the Adjudicator, and it'll protect me from harm, even from the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Beatrix announces.

"How will it do that?" Kaiba says, thinking that Beatrix was bluffing.

"Because I can special summon it whenever I activate a counter trap, not just that, but when Voltanis the Adjudicator is special summoned this way, I can tribute all of my fairy type monsters to destroy an equal number of cards on your side of the field!" Beatrix explains.

Voltanis the Adjudicator shines to life in front of Beatrix; the giant angel holds its massive staff in front of it, and stares at the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. The Adjudicator holds a gaze with the three-headed dragon as it decides its fate.

Voltanis the Adjudicator ATK 2800 DEF 1400

Beatrix points at Kaiba's monster, "Voltanis, destroy the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon with Light of Judgment!"

Shinato looks to the towering Adjudicator and nods. The blue angel rears back with its fist, and shoots a beam of its own energy at Voltanis, charging it for its most powerful attack. Shinato disappears, and Voltanis' eyes glow a pale blue. Beatrix's favorite monster raises its staff above the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and prepares to launch a powerful blast of holy energy at it.

Kaiba flips his last card over, "I activate De-Fusion! Your Light of Judgment has no target, and my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons come back to the field!" Everyone's eyes shift from Beatrix to Kaiba.

Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons begin to fade back into existence in front of Kaiba, but Beatrix was not about to let this happen, "I activate Holy Blast! As long as I have a light attribute fairy type monster on my side of the field, like Voltanis, I can remove one of the Blue-Eyes in your graveyard from play for a turn. Since one of your Blue-Eyes can't be summoned, none of them can!" All eyes go back to Beatrix.

A thin beam on white light shines from Voltanis' staff, and strikes one of the transparent Blue-Eyes White Dragons in front of Kaiba. With one of the dragons removed from play, the others disappear as well, leaving Kaiba defenseless.

"No, that can't be!" Kaiba shouts, without any more cards to play, he had but one choice, one he really did not want to make, "I end my turn." He says at a length.

Beatrix draws, and spies the card that she just drew, it was the best card she could have gotten at this time, "I activate the spell card Empowering Light! By removing Shinato, King of a Higher Plane in my graveyard from play, I can increase Voltanis' attack points by two hundred times its level. Shinato is a level eight monster, Voltanis' attack points increase by sixteen hundred!"

Voltanis the Adjudicator ATK 4400 DEF 1400

Beatrix nods, "It has been an honour to duel you Mr. Kaiba." She says with humility, "Voltanis the Adjudicator, attack directly for the win. Judgment Strike!"

Voltanis raises its left hand, and aims its palm at Kaiba. A pale blue light glows around its hand, and then a wave of blue light floods over Kaiba, who faces it fearlessly. With this attack, the duel is over, and even though this deck was not his complete deck, it was still a good duel on Beatrix's part.

Kaiba's Life Points: 0

The other duelists cheer as Beatrix wins the duel. Beatrix relaxes herself and sighs in relief; she is glad that her duty is done now. The audience flood into the small space, placed precariously high above solid ground, celebrating their champion. Beatrix smiles, happy for everyone who had been heartened to see her duel.

Kaiba clears his throat to get everyone's attention, "As creator of Duel Academy, allow me to be the first to introduce you to Obelisk Blue. But don't get smug!" Kaiba announces as he points his finger at Beatrix, "I will come before you for a rematch, and I will hold nothing back then!"

Beatrix smiles at Kaiba and then makes a "V" with her index and middle fingers, "I accept!"

This year is going to be a very special year. With the arrival of a new Obelisk Blue student who has the talent to inspire and the strength to stand up for her own morals. She would meet many hardships, many talented duelists, and will face her fair share of defeats. Despite the long and arduous road that lay ahead of her, Beatrix would walk into it bravely, thanks to this experience with Seto Kaiba.

Free Talk: The series has landed! A lot of work went behind the making of this first turn; I created cards, fashioned strategies, and outlined characters you'll be seeing in future turns. If you have any questions, I would love to answer them. All questions will be answered in this Free Talk section of future turns, if I get any that is. I hope you enjoy my series; it will be the largest undertaking of my life. I hope to write three seasons, much like Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, which means over a hundred turns. Please help me keep going through this by reviewing, because I would hate to do this much work if no one will read it.


	2. Turn 2

Turn 2: Polar Opposites – A Rivalry as Natural as Heaven and Hell

Beatrix stood in the middle of her new room in the Obelisk Blue girl's dorm. She was in complete awe of the posh furniture, the fancy chandelier, the king size bed with silken sheets, and the on suite bathroom. It was much better than anything she had ever seen in her life; being the daughter of a lower middle-class family.

She recovered her pack from the ground from which she dropped it from her initial shock, and took her fist steps into this brand new world. The room was large; it easily held the giant bed, desk, elaborate dresser, and card table with plenty of room left. She walked to the dresser, where she found a small electronic device and a letter. She opened the envelope and read the brief message from her headmaster, Amanda Kai, "Welcome to Obelisk Blue Beatrix Sorrowtine! I heard about your story from principal Crowler, it is quite impressive that a first year student of any rank has defeated a legendary duelist like Seto Kaiba. Please change into your uniform, and tour Duel Academy. Don't forget to attend the orientation tonight at eight o'clock. Please be aware of the uniform policy, each student must wear the colours of their dorm. In you closet hangs your tailor made uniform."

Beatrix sighed, releasing the built up excitement that had been bottling up in her since she first arrived in Duel Academy. She proceeded to put the clothes she brought to the academy in the dresser, walked over to the closet, and peered inside. She saw the smart uniform hanging neatly in the center of the closet. A bench ran across the back wall of the closet, and on top of it rested the standard issue duel disk to students of the academy. Underneath the bench are the shoes that go with the outfit.

The single uniform made the already spacious walk-in closet seem much more vacant. Beatrix frowned at this; if only she had the presence of mind to hand her shirts up here! She was not about to move her clothes from one end of the room to the other, so she made the lazy decision to leave her shirts where they were, in the dresser. Since the school advocated the wearing of uniforms, the new Obelisk Blue student decided that she would put the uniform on now. She would be wearing it for the better part of the next three years, so she would have to get used to it sooner or later.

She replaced her brown tank top and red skirt for the white tank top and blue skirt of Obelisk Blue. She honestly felt pretty good in the soft fabric, but something did not feel right about it. It could be because the whole concept of uniforms was foreign to her, or the fact that she wore the same skirt day in and day out for her entire teenage life and she felt unnatural without it. She looked in the mirror, and with a dissatisfied grunt, she made her decision. She needed her old red skirt.

With her red skirt taking the place of the blue skirt of the God of the Obelisk, Beatrix looked in the mirror again. She turned from side to side, looking at herself in the mirror. Despite the fact that it was not in uniform; the red skirt was in the exact same style of the uniform skirt. In fact, the only difference was the colour. She nodded, and promptly exited her room to explore the campus of Duel Academy.

The air outside was fresh, untouched by the pollution of the mainland; Beatrix took a deep breath and enjoyed the feeling. Duel Academy Island practically shone in its splendor, green emanated from both sides as Beatrix walked the forest path to the school building where she would start her adventure. Squirrels crossed Beatrix's path, apparently unshaken by humans like the squirrels in Domino City. She smiled at them, and continued on her way.

Upon reaching the school building, Beatrix could see a large gathering of students. Many Obelisk Blue students were chatting in the middle of the large area in front of the school, Ra Yellow students could be seen standing farther away from the school building; they were talking about Duel Monsters and were trading cards and strategies. Finally, Slifer Red students could be seen on the outskirts of the group. They were all happy to just be in the school, seemingly not caring of the fact that they were on a razor's edge between staying in the school and being expelled.

Standing out from all of the Slifer Red students is a short boy with blond hair in a bowl cut, could be seen trying to intermingle with the students of the other dorms. Beatrix was not yet aware of the feelings that the Obelisk Blues had for the Slifer Reds, but she was going to get her crash course now.

The boy made several attempts to talk with the Re Yellow students, but was turned away at every turn. He huffed, and moved onto the Obelisk Blue, only to get an even worse reception. The first group of blue clothed students roughly shoved him to the side. Beatrix's eyes narrowed when she saw this, and before she could think of how to verbalize her objections to this display, her legs began to take her to her cruel peers.

By the time she got there, the boy in the red blazer had just gotten back on his feet, and began dusting himself off with dignity. Beatrix glared at the offending students, "What are you doing?!" She asks them, her voice filled with contempt.

Of the group of three Obelisk Blue boys, the one in the middle who seemed to be their leader smiled at Beatrix, and told her the sad truth of the situation at Duel Academy, "Just putting this slacker in his place." He says, quite pleasantly to his fellow Obelisk Blue peer, "He thinks that he can just walk around talking to us in Obelisk Blue at his level. He doesn't have the right."

Beatrix had honestly never been this angry before, this kind of behavior was unacceptable by her standards, and it took all of her self-control to keep a level enough head to speak, "And what gives you the right to push him? He's a person just like you and me, and he doesn't deserve such treatment; nobody does!"

The boy on the right sneered at Beatrix, "Don't you understand anything Ms. Snooty? Slifer Slackers don't have the talent like us Obelisk Blues, so we can't be bothered with them."

"If you're sympathizing with him; that only proves what kind of duelist you are. How did you even get to our rank anyway?" The third boy adds.

"She's even got one foot in the Slifer Dorm! Look at her skirt!" The leader adds.

Just then, a powerful voice that demanded respect came from behind the three, "She got into our rank by beating the founder of this school you nitwit."

The boys visibly shivered at the voice, and parted to two ways to let the person through. It was a young girl Beatrix's age, and in the same dorm; she had long dark blue hair, and blood red eyes that seem as if they could pierce into one's soul. She gave off an air of confidence about her that made everyone around her with a weaker spirit cringe. Despite her demeanor, the girl was actually quite frail; her body looked sickly and weak, but this was overshadowed by her powerful gaze and voice.

" C-Candace, how nice to meet you again." Squeaked the second boy's voice.

The leader seemed to keep his composure, but still gave Candace the same greeting, "We are honoured by your presence Miss Candace, but is what you said true? Did she really beat Seto Kaiba?"

"I never lie, now get out my sight you fool, I need to talk to her." Candace tells them.

The boys get out of Candace's presence as soon as they can, they did not want to be picked apart by Candace's glare or the harsh words of the duelist who beat the legendary duelist. Candace gives Beatrix the same gaze that has crushed the spirits of many of the students who graduated with her in the preparatory school, but it does not make it past Beatrix's willful eyes.

Beatrix finally broke the silence, "Thank you for dealing with them, they were such jerks."

Candace's cold demeanor remained unchanged, "I just wanted to talk to you, that's all. I don't really care what happens to this cretin." She says, referring to the Slifer student.

Beatrix was not pleased by this; she thought that she had found a good soul in the blue dorm, but was sadly mistaken, "Well, what do you want to talk about? If the conversation is about anything other than mistreating other people, then I'll join it."

Candace's unmoving eyes suddenly became filled with hate, "Self-righteous moron. How could you ever beat Kaiba?" She asks rhetorically, "Oh, I know! You couldn't, because you didn't!"

If Candace had wanted Beatrix to respond angrily, then she would be disappointed, because Beatrix was a good sport when it came people insulting her, "Please explain your reasoning to me then, because I was there when I beat him, so I kinda have it on good authority that I did defeat Mr. Kaiba."

Candace's eyes returned to their usual steely gaze, "Kaiba did not duel you with all of his force you know." Beatrix held Candace's gaze, apparently not getting the point, "Ask yourself these questions. Did you see the XYZ-Dragon Cannon? Did your monsters succumb to the Crush Card virus? Was unmentionable power unleashed by the Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End? I know for a fact that you didn't. Your victory is pretty well documented; Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, but nothing more! Obelisk Blue is full of people that could beat that! You cannot claim victory on Kaiba, because you did not face him at his best."

Beatrix's eyes began to falter; Candace was right. She may have defeated the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but that was not Seto Kaiba at his full strength. Was Obelisk Blue really full of people who could do what she had stumbled upon? She began to feel bad about herself when a small voice came up from beside her.

"She's jealous." Said the forgotten Slifer Red student, "I can tell. She hides it well, but she really didn't have to question you that much. She's just covering up her own jealousy."

Beatrix's eyes snapped wide open, and Candace growled, "Cretin!" She says, but is unable to think of anything else to say.

Beatrix smiled, "He's right, you are jealous."

Candace's anger began to flare, which caused her to bend over and begin coughing. She was born with an illness that cursed her with a frail body, something she had always detested. It was not fatal, but she could not stain herself too much, or get too emotional, or she would begin to convulse. She quickly regained her composure, and breathed heavily due to all of the coughing. Before Beatrix could ask her if she was alright, the girl stood upright again; her gaze retuning to normal, "I will prove to you that I do not have anything to envy of you. I challenge you to a duel tonight after orientation!"

Beatrix was concerned for Candace, considering that she had begun to cough so suddenly, but when Candace issued the challenge, she knew that she had to accept. Candace was a strong person, and she definitely seemed like a powerful duelist. With such a good challenge in front of her, how could she refuse?

"I accept. I'll see you after the orientation then." Beatrix says with her hand out in front of her, to shake Candace's hand.

Candace's emotionless stare met with Beatrix's genuine eyes, she then looked at her opponent's hand, and ignored it. Candace turned around and walked inside of the school building, where she came from. She was supposed to meet with the headmaster of Obelisk Blue today, and her altercation with Beatrix made her late, but it was worth it. She was going to prove that she had the strength that her body did not allow her. That was why she became a duelist, she felt proud of herself when she dueled, and she had earned herself the moniker of Duel Princess of Domino Prep School. She was going to carry that confidence and power to Duel Academy, and she was going to start her legacy off right by beating the only girl in Duel Academy history to be a legendary duelist.

Beatrix sighed, letting the tension flow out of her body. She had never expected her first day at Duel Academy to be so dramatic. She remembered the Slifer Red boy, and turned to him. No one else seemed to be in the area other than these two, "Exciting day, huh?" Beatrix asked rhetorically, "So, what's your name?"

The boy looked up at Beatrix, "I am Edgar Gein, please call me Gein." He answers.

"I'm Beatrix, nice to meet you." Beatrix says with a smile, "I'm sorry if I interfered, I just hate bullies."

Gein smiled, "It's okay, don't mind people, even if they treat me poorly."

"You are a bigger man than they are. If you ever want to prove yourself to them, just duel them. I can see talent in your eyes."

Gein looked a bit sheepish, "Thank you. I can duel them, but I don't like to duel for things like that. I duel only for fun; it is a game after all."

"Heh, you're right." Beatrix laughs.

Fast friends, Beatrix and Gein continued talking about expectations and hometowns. Gein informed Beatrix that he was from Germany, and shared some information about the country. It soon came to be the time for the dorm orientations to begin, and they had to part ways, "Shall I meet you after the orientation?" Gein asks Beatrix, "I would like to watch your duel with Candace."

Beatrix chuckled, "Of course, if you can make it. We'll duel near here, so look for us here okay?"

Beatrix hurried off to the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm, not wanting to be late for the shindig. As soon as she got there, she was swept up in a sea of motion. Girls in blue blazers were everywhere, grabbing at buffet-style food, and talking amongst themselves. All of these girls seemed to be from rich families, which made Beatrix feel uncomfortable. She was from a lower-middle class family, and everything they were talking about was completely over her head. Instead of talking about things that she had absolutely no knowledge in, Beatrix was one hundred percent content with silently eating her meal.

Despite the fact that this was called an 'orientation', there was no information being shared from the headmaster, or if there was anything, then she did not hear it. Beatrix simply sat bored at the table, and slowly munching on her food while the others talked amongst themselves. Eventually, the boredom got to her, and she began looking around, anxious for the orientation to end so she could get to the real excitement of a duel.

Beatrix spied Candace from the corner of her eye; apparently the emotionless girl was in the same boat. Candace looked in Beatrix's direction and continued on her way out. Beatrix nodded, and followed Candace out of the female dorm. Candace and Beatrix took separate canoes to get across the lake, the short way to get to the Duel Academy school building. Beatrix rowed next to Candace, "Mind if I pick the venue, I have a friend who wants to watch our duel."

Candace remained completely emotionless as she answered, "Having a witness to your defeat is fine by me."

Beatrix huffed, but did not reply. She did not care for Candace's attitude, but she would not let the sickly looking girl get the better of her. Beatrix had a feeling that she would need to keep a level head, because her opponent's aura of strength was so potent that it almost seemed visible. Against an opponent this imposing, Beatrix knew that she would need to give it her all.

Beatrix felt odd walking this far for a duel, but she promised Gein that they would be in front of the school building so he could find them easily enough. She began to feel a bit sheepish, especially since the incomparable Candace was walking beside her. She had no idea what was going on in the mind of her opponent. Was she anxious? Was she annoyed at having to come so far out of her way just for one duel? Beatrix could derive no answers from the blank look on Candace's face; she did not even bat an eye at her opponent and kept her hard gaze on the road ahead of her.

The darkness of the night gave the woods a very different feeling from what Beatrix experienced that morning. She felt a chill run down her spine when she looked at the girl beside her. Candace seemed in her own element in the darkness, her body and demeanor appeared at one with the night. It was then that Beatrix realized the simple truth; this girl was her exact opposite. While Beatrix felt most at peace in the light, Candace seemed more at peace in the dark. Beatrix was respectful of everyone's feelings, while Candace thought nothing of stepping on someone's emotions. This would be more than a simple duel between two students; this would be a clash of opposing elements.

After what felt like an eternity, Beatrix finally caught sight of Gein. It was time for this duel to start, and she was glad that it had finally come. The wait was beginning to get to her, and walking beside Candace in the dead of night did not help matters either. Candace walked a bit ahead of Beatrix, and readied her duel disk. Beatrix did the same, and she began wondering who should go first. A question Candace would answer, "I challenged, so I will start."

Candace draws her sixth card, and looks over her hand, "Dark Lucius levels up by destroying a monster and surviving to the next turn, this is a difficult feat because of his low attack score, and is best as a reactionary monster. I cannot lead with him, but if I plan ahead…" Candace thinks to herself, "I set one monster face-down in defense mode, and cover one card." She says as her two face-down cards shine to life in front of her, "And I'll activate my field spell card, Yami!" A thick dark fog emanates from the forest that surrounded the three duelists, and shrouded the front of Duel Academy in a darkness that even the night could not trump, "I end my turn."

This shroud of dark mist almost hid Candace from Beatrix's sight, but because she was so pale, Beatrix could just make out her face and eyes. Candace's eyes, being darker than her face, but still illuminated by it, seemed to stand out in the darkness. It was very unsettling for Beatrix, who drew her first card of the duel. She could certainly see why the boys who shoved Gein earlier were so frightened of her.

Beatrix looked at her hand cautiously; she knew that Candace's Yami field spell card would weaken most of her monsters by two hundred points, and she could only assume that she used either Spellcasters or Fiends that could take advantage of the new venue. A simultaneous strengthening and weakening strategy; Candace really was a shining example of what was expected of an Obelisk Blue student. Beatrix knew that she would have to match her to walk down this road.

Beatrix draws her sixth card, "I don't like that face-down monster of yours, so I'm going to summon Bountiful Artemis in defense mode." The fairy shines to life in front of Beatrix, but a dark aura surrounds and weakens the creature of light.

Bountiful Artemis ATK 1400 DEF 1500

"My trap card will persuade you to change your mind; Chthonian Direction!" Candace tells Beatrix, "Your monster is switched to attack mode, and if you don't attack this turn, then you take damage equal to your monsters original attack points!"

Beatrix gasps, "Rats, this is a tough decision."

Gein puts his hand on his chin, "If you attack, you have to deal with whatever effect Candace's monster has, something of which she obviously wants you to do. On the other hand, if you choose not to attack, you lose sixteen hundred life. Not an easy decision."

Beatrix expected Candace to laugh at her situation, and had half a mind to expect her to get impatient with how long it took her to make the decision, but neither came to be true. Candace simply stood patiently on her side of the field, her arms crossed, and the same emotionless gaze. Beatrix finally made her decision, and hoped for the best, "I can't take that much damage, I'll attack."

Bountiful Artemis took off; reaching Candace's face-down card within a second. The fairy then raised its arms above the horizontal card, and a ray of light shone down upon it. The card flips face-up, revealing a monster that looked like an organic Lunar Lander.

"Activate the flip effect of Virus of Weakening. Your Bountiful Artemis will now lose five hundred attack points." Candace informs.

Bountiful Artemis ATK 900 DEF 1500

Beatrix cringes, "Gah! What a nasty surprise. I'll end my turn."

Candace's eyebrows lower slightly, showing that she was slightly affected by Beatrix's display, "I summon Dark Lucius LV4 in attack mode."

The dark fog formed itself into the shape of a man, and when the form is complete, a sinister looking demon could be made out in the darkness. Like Candace, its red eyes seemed to glow, and it had a wide evil smile on its face.

Dark Lucius LV4 ATK 1200 DEF 500

"Now, I'll have Dark Lucius attack Bountiful Artemis." Candace said with no tone of emotion in her voice. Dark Lucius LV4 disappears, and reappeared in front of Beatrix's monster. Its evil smile widened, and it launched a punch that pierces through the fairy, and caused it to shatter, "I'll cover a card, and end my turn." A card appears in front of the unmoving Candace.

Beatrix's Life Points: 3700

Candace's Life Points: 4000

Beatrix swiped the top card from her deck, "Skelengel. When Candace attacks you, I'll get your flip effect and draw a card. I could use the extra drawing power; this Yami field spell seems to be draining my luck." Beatrix thought to herself, "I set one monster face-down in defense mode, and end my turn."

Candace's eyes narrowed as she drew her card, "Is this all you are? You haven't made a good move all game." Candace said in her monotone voice.

At that, Candace's monster, Dark Lucius, began to grow larger. Horns began growing out of the Fiend's shoulder blades, and the monster shed its hide in exchange for a tougher, armour-like skin. Beatrix looked on in disgust as the devil metamorphosis took place in front of her. The new monster had a wider and creepier smile that its previous form. The creature, unarmed until now, has a thin sword in its right hand.

Dark Lucius LV6 ATK 1900 DEF 800

Candace points at Beatrix's monster, "Dark Lucius LV6, attack her face-down monster."

Dark Lucius teleports over to the face-down monster on Beatrix's side of the field, and slashes through it with its thin blade. The two halves of the card reveal the monster that Beatrix had set. The skeleton angel begins glowing with a holy power, and Beatrix motions to draw a card from her deck. Then, something happened.

"Don't draw that card. Dark Lucius negates the effect of the monster it destroys." Candace calmly informs her opponent.

Beatrix stopped just as her hand reached her deck, and noticed with horror that her Skelengel's white aura turned black. A cruel laugh echoes from the sinister smile on Dark Lucius' face, as it held its palm over Skelengel's head. Dark Lucius' evil aura corrupted the Fairy's holy aura, which prevented it from using its effect.

A face-down card appeared on Candace's side of the field, "Cover one card, and end my turn."

"Since Dark Lucius LV6 negated an effect, he'll level up again next turn. You'd better destroy Dark Lucius before he can attain his highest level." Gein tells Beatrix.

"Getting help from a Slifer Red, how pathetic. You don't deserve to be in this dorm." Candace said a look of disappointment on her face.

Beatrix was almost inclined to agree with Candace. She honestly would have been happy in any of the dorms, but it was her foolish leadership that got her into this situation. She almost decided to quit the duel, when she remembered Kaiba. Even though he was not dueling at his best, the fact remained that she beat him, and he deserved better than to have the person who bested him to lose confidence like this. She would not let the name of a legendary duelist be sullied like this. She had to take the offensive, and she had the perfect card to do so, "I summon Majestic Mech – Ohka in attack mode!"

Majestic Mech – Ohka ATK 2200 DEF 1200

The heavenly machination shone to life in front of Beatrix, the lion-shaped Fairy settled before Dark Lucius, and lets out a dignified roar. Gein looked at the creature with an odd look on his face. He could not understand how such a powerful monster could be Normal Summoned without sacrifices, "What?" Was all he was able to say.

Beatrix looks over to Gein with a smile on her face, "I can summon him without tributes, but if I do so, he returns to heaven at the end of my turn."

Candace's scowl relaxed, but her usual gaze took its place, showing that she was no longer disgusted with Beatrix, "I still have the advantage on the next turn." She said.

Beatrix looked back to Candace, her eyes suddenly serious, "Yeah, but it's worth it, because you'll have to start leveling Dark Lucius up from scratch!"

Gein's eyes widened, "That's right! Dark Lucius' effect doesn't work if he's revived, and if he can't have his effect, he can't level up!"

Beatrix pointed at Dark Lucius, "Ohka, attack Dark Lucius with Heavenly Blast!"

Majestic Mech – Ohka breathes out a beam of pure light aimed directly at the creature of pure darkness, Dark Lucius. But, just as the beam of light came upon the devil, Candace pressed a button on her duel disk, "Reveal face-down card, Mirror Force! I'll reflect your light right back at you." Candace tells Beatrix evenly.

A transparent barrier covered Candace's side of the field, and when the beam of light hit it, it reflected back at the monster that shot it. The reflected beam of light strikes Majestic Mech – Ohka on the head, causing an explosion that eradicated Beatrix's monster. Beatrix grunted as this happened, "This duel is not over, I'll set a card face-down on the field, and end my turn."

Candace drew her card, and in response, Dark Lucius became enveloped in darkness. Beatrix was relieved that the dark fog hid the undoubtedly gruesome transformation of Dark Lucius LV6. The devil appears shortly after, six sleek bat wings flapping at once, which dispersed the fog that hid it. The devil's skin now looked much more like heavy steel armour. The Fiend's cruel smile replaced by a sinister scowl that displayed its grim intentions. Dark Lucius' sword had also undergone a transformation; it was now a much larger broad sword that could cleave an elephant in twain.

Dark Lucius LV8 ATK 3000 DEF 1100

"Cover a card, and attack player directly." Candace commanded, with no emotion in her voice.

Dark Lucius rose it's sword in the air, and slashed down, making a wave of darkness energy to rush at Beatrix. The girl stared bravely at the incoming blast of powerful energy, she had a plan, and she was glad that Candace had attacked so she could put it into action.

Beatrix waved her hand in front of her, "That triggered by trap, Magic Cylinder! Like you reflected my light, I'll reflect your darkness back at you!"

Two cylinders appeared just as the darkness energy came to Beatrix. One of the cylinders took in the energy, and the other shot it back out at Candace. Candace's eyes did not change as her attack came at her, but she could not help but raise her voice in pain as the realistic hologram hit her.

Beatrix's Life Points: 3700

Candace's Life Points: 1000

Before Beatrix could get too proud of herself, Candace spoke up, "I activate my quick play spell, Chthonian Torment! Because I took effect damage, I can relinquish my next Draw Phase to give you the pain I just experienced!"

Beatrix's eyes widened when she realized that she was about to take that much damage. A dark red energy enveloped her body, and even though these were just holograms, they were hot. Painfully hot. She had no idea how she felt pain from this hologram, but she thought that it must have had something to do with the realism of the holograms.

Beatrix's Life Points: 700

Candace's Life Points: 1000

Beatrix gasped for air after she took that damage, "That was a good move. I thought I took the lead there."

Candace did not seem to acknowledge Beatrix's praise, "Turn end."

Beatrix drew her card, "Voltanis! Am I glad to see you! It's just too bad that I don't have any Fairies to use your effect." Beatrix thought to herself, "I'll set a card face-down, and end my turn."

Candace did not draw her card, because of the effect of Chthonian Torment. She instead shows Beatrix a card, "I activate the spell Chthonian Guard! By removing a Fiend in my graveyard from play, my Dark Lucius LV8 cannot be destroyed this turn!" She said, as she took Dark Lucius LV6 from her Graveyard, and put it in her pocket.

Gein was taken aback by Candace's move, "Woah! With that Chthonian Guard, Candace practically made Beatrix's trap useless!" Gein thought to himself.

"Direct attack on player!" Candace commanded.

Dark Lucius raised its blade again, much like it had done the previous turn. This time, with Chthonian Guard, it was safe from most traps that players would use to stop it. Dark Lucius brought its sword down, unleashing another powerful blast of darkness energy. The energy came back upon Beatrix with more than enough power to defeat her, and with the option of destroying it gone, Beatrix looked to be defeated here and now.

The card on Beatrix's field rose to show Candace what it was, "Activate trap, Negate Attack! Your attack is stopped!"

Gein sighed, "Whew, since Negate Attack doesn't destroy monsters, Beatrix is safe!" He thought.

Beatrix smiled, "Now, since I activated a counter trap, I can Special Summon my favorite monster, Voltanis the Adjudicator!"

A ray of hope shone down from the clouds, and from it descended Beatrix's guardian angel. Voltanis the Adjudicator settled between Dark Lucius and Beatrix, and despite the fact that Dark Lucius was more powerful; Voltanis appeared just as calm as Beatrix was. Candace covered her eyes from the light, but was not worried. This was simply a stall tactic, there was no way Beatrix could defeat Dark Lucius LV8 with Voltanis. Even though the original strength of the two monsters were equal, while Yami was on the field, Dark Lucius gained power while Voltanis the Adjudicator lost power. Candace still had the upper hand.

Voltanis the Adjudicator ATK 2600 DEF 1200

Not being one to gloat, Candace simply said, "Turn end."

Beatrix drew her card, it was exactly the card she needed to win this duel now, "Candace, even though I don't like you very much, it has been an honor to duel you. I activate the spell card Holy Power! This equip spell not only increases Voltanis' attack strength by five hundred, but also its attack can't be lowered!"

A white aura erupted from Voltanis, the heavenly energy filling Beatrix's side of the field. The black fog of the field spell Yami recedes, escaping from the holy power that emanated from Voltanis. Even though Voltanis was now more powerful than Dark Lucius, she was not worried. She remained completely calm, and thought about her next move while Voltanis gained power.

Voltanis the Adjudicator ATK 3300 DEF 1200

Candace remained silent, which made Beatrix feel awkward, because she needed Candace to tell her that even with a power increase, she would not win this turn. Beatrix waited until Candace sighed, and finally spoke up, "When will you continue your turn?"

Beatrix sighed in return, "Fine, I'll make my move." She said, "But even with this power boost, I won't beat you this turn, which is why I have this!" Beatrix said, and showed Candace another spell, "This spell card, Helping Hand From Above, will let me remove one of the Fairies in my Graveyard from play to give Voltanis another attack, although it will only be up to the attack strength of the monster I removed from play. I remove Bountiful Artemis from play, so Voltanis can attack once more with sixteen hundred attack points!"

Gein was impressed; Candace had kept Beatrix under her thumb for the entire length of this duel with many brilliant moves, but all Beatrix needed was one good move of her own to completely turn the tables. With the score the way it was, Beatrix would win the duel! Even though she was faced with her own immanent defeat, Candace did not look any different than she had for the entire length of the duel. She was just as calm and collected as she was the entire time she had been beating Beatrix.

Beatrix pointed at Dark Lucius, the monster that had been plaguing her for the entire duel, "Voltanis, destroy Dark Lucius LV8! Judgment Strike!"

Voltanis raised its staff into the air, streams of light shining from the ornament on the top of the staff. Afterwards, a blue beam of light blasted forth from the staff, and struck Dark Lucius, and causing an explosion that fills Candace's side of the field.

Beatrix's Life Points: 700

Candace's Life Points: 700

Voltanis the Adjudicator ATK 1600 DEF 1400

"Voltanis still has one attack left, so I'll attack directly for the w…" Beatrix says, but is interrupted by Candace.

"I'll take the tie. I activate my trap card Chthonian Blast!" Candace's face-down card rose so that Beatrix could see it, "Since you destroyed Dark Lucius LV8, the weakest monster is destroyed, and we each take half of that monster's attack points. Since your Voltanis is the only monster in play, then it is destroyed, and we each take three thousand, one hundred fifty damage."

Without warning, Voltanis the Adjudicator exploded. A massive explosion that devours both Beatrix and Candace, and so bright that Gein had to cover his eyes. Once the explosion subsided and Gein could see again, he saw that Beatrix was kneeling, and Candace was standing with dignity.

Beatrix's Life Points: 0

Candace's Life Points: 0

"That was a great duel, thank you Candace." Beatrix said genuinely.

Candace did not answer, because she did like the fact that Beatrix had given her a draw. It annoyed her to no end that she had been on top for the entire duel, and Beatrix's final move forced her hand, and Candace needed to play Chthonian Blast. She swore that the next time that they duel, the outcome would be different.

Before anything else could be said, clapping could be heard from behind them. It was the Obelisk Blue Headmaster. He wore a smart blue blazer, much like the ones that the Obelisk Blue boys wore. He had brown hair, and it was neatly combed. His eyes showed a genuine love for all of the students at Duel Academy, and he was impressed by Beatrix and Candace's duel. But, it was after hours, and curfew was a strict rule.

"A very good duel, I am glad to see that our students are so good. It gives me a good feeling for the future." Earole told both Beatrix and Candace, "But you have broken curfew. Candace, Beatrix, I know that you are both first year students, and that you are both enigmas, but that does not excuse you from the rules. Week long detention is your punishment." It was at this point that Gein began sneaking away, not wanting to be punished either, "Edgar Gein, I will tell your headmaster that you have broken curfew as well, and I'll leave the rest up to his good judgment. Now, everyone, please go back to your dorms, and go to sleep. Tomorrow is another day, and you all need to be well rested."

Today's Strongest Card

Chthonian Torment/Quick Play Spell

If you activate this effect, you must skip your next Draw Phase. When you take damage from the effect of a card, inflict the same amount of damage to your opponent's Life Points that you took as a result of that effect.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter! If any of you want to know, my favorite of the character's introduced so far is Candace, she's got a great character flaw and personality, and in my opinion that makes for a great character. To respond to Arashihawk's question; yes I actually do plan to have some of the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX characters make obligatory cameos! I can't tell you anything more on the subject, since that would spoil the story. You might notice that I added another feature; this is the strongest card of the turn. I got the idea from the Japanese anime, where after each episode they give you the low down on the key card. I'll choose the strongest card I created, and give you the full description as if it was an actual game card. Have a good one, and I'll write the next chapter as soon as possible.


	3. Turn 3

Turn 3: The Life Force Duelist - Heal it to Win it

Beatrix yawned as she sat in her very first class; she was tired from the last night's duel. A tie with the sickly strong Candace made for an eventful first day, but the week long detention made for the most memorable, but in a bad way. She looked around her; the room looked like a rainbow, a very bland rainbow consisting of red yellow and blue. Combine that with the dull lecture the teacher was giving and her own tiredness, she soon fell asleep.

Without warning, Beatrix awoke to a gentle shaking. She gave a meek groan as she opened her eyes to a trembling world. In a hushed voice, Beatrix could hear the girl sitting next to her, "Don't get caught sleeping during Alphase's lecture. He doesn't like it."

It was a second year Obelisk Blue student with purple hair and blue eyes. Beatrix yawned again, "Oh, thank you." She said, although she did not like being roused from sleep.

At the end of class, the teacher and headmaster of Slifer Red exited the room, off to his room of the humble red dormitory. Whatever it was that he always rushed off to do escaped everyone who had ever had him as a teacher, but no one had ever bothered to try and find out what it was. As Beatrix gathered her things, she heard the voice of the girl who waked her, "So, do you doze off during class often?" She asked, her voice not sounding at all as judgmental as Beatrix would have thought it to be.

"Oh, me?" Beatrix said in surprise, "No, I'm just tired is all. I stayed up after curfew last night dueling Candace."

The girl nodded, "Yeah, I heard of that. A lot of the Obelisk students know of your tie with the princess of the prep school. Its quite the news story. My name is Freya, and I already know that yours is Beatrix."

Beatrix laughed nervously, she was not used to being famous, "Well, hello Freya. Well, I'm new here, and I have a break after this class, so what is there to do around here?"

Freya beamed, "I have a break too, so I'll show you what we do around here on break."

After a brief walk down the hallways of Duel Academy, Beatrix found herself in front of a massive circular shaped room with a large field on it for duel monsters. Beatrix was wide-eyed looking around the arena that rivaled even the one in the Blue-Eyes White Dome. Several adults and students were seated in the bleachers watching the duels. Freya clasped her hand on Beatrix's shoulder and pointed to the men and women in the bleachers, "See them, those adults in the seats up there? They are all either teachers or administrators here at Duel Academy. They watch the students' duels here."

Beatrix looked worried, "Are they even grading us while we're relaxing?!" She asked Freya nervously.

"Nah, they watch out for talent so they can set up good duels during the monthly exhibition events. Some people are too nervous to duel here because of it, and others duel here all the time to show off their stuff and maybe becomming the next Kaiser."

"Kaiser?"

"You don't know who the Kaiser is?!" Freya blurted out all of a sudden, "Oh, right, you're new here. Kaiser is the king of duelists, the best duelist in the school. The current Kaiser was recognized after serveral duels here and during the events. I've never met him personally, but I've seen him duel. He is the ultimate master at controlling duels." Suddenly, Freya's eyes became dewy and Beatrix looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "He duels like an artisan, controlling his opponent's moves with his perfectly planned strategies."

Beatrix smiled at her, "Awww, you like Kaiser!" She said as if she made some great discovery.

"N-no I don't ! I just think he's a good duelist." Freya managed to stammer out, a blush clearly on her face.

Beatrix laughed at her new friend's apparent crush on this Kaiser, king of duelists. As Beatrix was laughing and Freya was adamantly pleading with her friend to stop, a group gathered before them consisting of a wide variety of the students at the academy. Beatrix and Freya quickly composed themselves, and they looked at the gang with wonderment, "So, what's up?" Beatrix managed to ask them.

The group of students did not answer her, instead blankly staring at Beatrix, almost afraid to ask her what they wanted. Fortunately for them a voice came from above and to the right and voiced their desire. He was a third year Obelisk Blue student with blonde hair, "They want to see the one who defeated Kaiba and tied with Candace."

Freya jumped in surprise, "Kaiser!" She said, covering her blush with her hands, "W-what are you doing here?"

"Watching the duels probably," Beatrix answered, "Well, if its a duel they want, I'm game!"

Suddenly the students' attitudes turned from bold to sheepish, as none of them wanted to duel against Beatrix. The girl looked annoyed, since it did not look like she would have an opponent, but then something unexpected happened, "I'll duel you."

Beatrix turned her head to Freya, "Alright, I'd love to see a second year in action."

Freya look at Beatrix, she was smiling but her eyes were focused and steely, "Sorry Beatrix, but I won't hold back." She said, and then thought to herself as she spied the Kaiser in the corner of her eye, "I will show you my skill Kaiser, my controlling strategy that I hope will make you notice me."

Beatrix saw in Freya's eyes what she was thinking, and nodded to her as if she had not noticed it, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Beatrix and Freya stood opposite of each other on the large duel field, and drew their cards. The student's scrambled to get to their seats, and watch this duel. Kaiser also sat down where he had addressed Beatrix, intent to see exactly what her skill was. Perhaps he would even duel her if she was strong enough.

"Challengers first, draw!" Freya swiped the sixth card off the top of her deck, "I'll set a monster face-down in defense mode, and activate my Spell Absorption in stereo!" She said the two hologram cards appeared in front of her, facing her opponent, "This spell card gives me five hundred life points when a spell is cast, and since I activated another one, I'll gain five hundred life points.

Freya's Life Points: 4500

"That's not all, I have two more spells to cast. Dian Keto the Cure Master will give me a thousand life points, and my two Spell Absorptions will give me a thousand more!"

Freya's Life Points: 6500

"And finally I'll activate Life Force Cannon, and pay five hundred life points to damage you by five hundred, but we all know that I'm actually going to gain five hundred."

A small white laser cannon cannon appeared on the field in front of Freya, there was a short and wide tube in the back of the cannon, and an aura of blue energy flowed from Freya into the cannon via that tube. The cannon shone to life and fired a small beam of blue light at Beatrix.

Freya's Life Points: 7000

Beatrix's Life Points: 3500

Everyone in the audience gasped in awe, on the first turn of the duel this girl they did not even know of had gained such a good lead on the favorite to win, "That will be the end of my turn."

Beatrix laughed, she had never seen such a good opening move. Simultaneously decreasing her opponent's life points and increasing her own, and it was a large increase. The lead Freya had on her was almost unfair. Was this the strength of a second year student? Beatrix was intent on finding out, "Wow, you sure have me in a pickle!" She said as she drew and looked at her hand, "I'll start off with Celestial Transformation!" The card then appeared on the field, a spell card, "Sure, you'll gain five hundred life points, but I'll get Bountiful Artemis to sacrifice for Airknight Parshath." With that, the fairy she had special summoned appeared and disappeared making way for the heavenly adorned warrior of heaven.

Airknight Parshath ATK 1900 DEF 1400

Freya's Life Points: 7500

"Now, I'll attack your face-down monster with Parshath!" Beatrix says as she prepares to draw a card because of her monster's effect.

Parshath's shining sword lunged toward the horizontal face-down card, and as it did, the hologram flipped over and it revealed a white shield with transluscent blue tubes stretching into the ground toward Freya. The sword comes to a dead stop on the shield, and as it did, white energy funneled from the sword through the shield and into the tubes, and then a white aura surrounded Freya.

Freya's Life Points: 8100

"You attacked Life Force Shield - Mecha Tech II!" Freya announced, "Instead of taking damage when you attack this mighty shield, I gain life points."

Life Force Shield - Mech Tech II ATK 0 DEF 2500

Beatrix snapped her fingers, "Well darn, I can hardly believe that such a monster exists! Well, I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

Kaiser, who had been carefully watching the duel up to this point was slightly impressed, "Well, that Freya ha managed to get her life points well above twice her opponent's in one round. It seems she is even more interesting than this newbie who is supposedly defeated the propietor of this school."

Freya drew her next card, "My turn! Now, I'll summon Life Force Director - Mecha Tech I!" Another machine appeared on Freya's side of the field, a white humanoid with a wide blue funnel in its back and a laser cannon in its chest.

Life Force Director - Mecha Tech I ATK 1100 DEF 1500

"Now, I can pay five hundred life points so Life Force Director can attack your life points directly. I'm glad its the only attacking monster I have, because its the only attack I can make this turn!" Freya says, as a blue aura flows from her into the funnel in the back of her monster. The cannon in the front of the Life Force Director hummed to life as it charged with the life force of its summoner, and then blasted forth a blue beam of light that striked Beatix on the chest and knocked her back a few feet.

Beatrix's Life Points: 2400

"That's not all! I activate the quick play spell card Sebek's Blessing from my hand! Now I gain the life points you just lost, not to mention the life points I get from my Spell Absorption!" Freya adds with a serious tone of voice.

Freya's Life Points: 10200

"Wow, over ten thousand life points in but two turns! But what are you gonna do with them all?" Beatrix asked Freya, happy to be dueling against such a strategy.

Beatrix's joy seemed to rub off on Freya, and despite the fact that she was dueling so as to gain the love of Kaiser, she could not help but have a bit of fun with her new friend, "Heh, well, you'll see in a minute Beatrix. End of turn."

Beatrix drew her card, "Alright, I'll activate The Sanctuary in the Sky, the venue of the angels!" With a great wipe of white clouds, the entire arena looked as if the duel was now taking place in the sky. A great white castle appeared behind Beatrix, and shined like a beacon of hope for the girl who stood before it, "Now I'll summon Zeradis, Herald of Heaven!"

Freya's Life Points: 11200

A winged creature weilding a great spear emerged from the castle and settled before Beatrix. The fairy stood firm in front of it opposition, strengthened from the powers of the castle and bolstered by the confidence its summoner had in it.

Zeradis, Herald of Heaven ATK 2100 DEF 800

"I'll deal more damage if I attack with Zeradis, but if I attack with Parshath I'll get to draw. I think I'll draw instead, since Freya'll probably only heal it on her next turn." She thinks to herself, "Airknight Parshath will attack Life Force Director, Heaven's Sword Slash!"

The heavenly swordsman dashed toward the machine on Freya's side of the field, and slashed it with an upward diagonal slash from left to right, rending the machine apart, and causing a rush of holy energy that hits Freya.

Freya's Life Points: 10400

"Parshath's effect allows me to draw." Beatrix says as she swipes a card from the top of her deck, "Well, I could use this, so I'll save it for later." She thinks to herself as she places the card in her duel disk, "I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."

Freya drew her card, "I'll sacrifice Life Force Shield to summon my Life Force Tank - Mecha Tech III!"

The shiled is replaced by a large white tank with similar blue tubes pointed toward Freya. The tank readied its cannon, and imposed a force upon the field that no other monster could match.

Life Force Tank - Mecha Tech III ATK 2400 DEF 1500

Freya pointed her finger at Zeradis, "Life Force Tank will attack Zeradis, Herald of Heaven with Energizing Blast!"

The tank aims its gun at Beatrix's monster and charges some sort of energy in its inner mechanisms before firing a shell at Zeradis. When the explosion cleared Zeradis was nowhere to be seen and a blue aura covered Freya again.

Freya's Life Points: 12500

Beatrix frowned, "Hey, your life points went up again!" She exclaimed.

Freya smiled, "Yeah, its Life Force Tank's effect; when it destroys a monster, I gain life points equal to that monsters attack. So by destroying Zeradis, I gained twenty-one hundred life points! I'll end my turn with that."

Beatrix looked at the situation with a critical eye. There was a powerful monster on the field that increased her opponent's life points with every monster it destroyed, and she only had Airknight Parshath on the field to oppose it. She would have to come up with some sort of delay tactic to et her strength up to not only defeat this tank, but to lower Freya's incredibly high life points to zero.

She drew her card and looked at it; Swords of Revealing Light. Sure it would give Freya a thousand more life points, but there were no better moves that she could make at the moment with that Life Force Tank on the field, "I activate Swords of Revealing Light and end my turn."

When the spell card entered her duel disk, three swords fell from the sky and stuck fast into the clouds at Beatrix's feet. A shining white light came to life between the three swords, creating a barrier to protect her from any monster attacks. It was a temporary barrier, but it was sure to keep her in the game for the next three turns.

Freya's Life Points: 13500

Freya drew her card, "Well, thank you for the life points, I'll be sure to make good use of them. Like now, when I activate another copy of Life Force Cannon!"

The similar white cannon appeared before Beatrix, "Aww no." Beatrix groans as the cannon fired another laser at her. She folded her arms over her chest after the beam struck her another hard blow. Which stung more than losing the life points, however, was the fact that her opponent was gaining five hundred life points rather than losing them. It was truly an unfair situation, and there did not seem like there was a way out.

Beatrix's Life Points: 1900

Freya's Life Points: 14000

Freya looked over to Kaiser, "Do you see my skill Kaiser? I hope you can see how I show my tribute to you; a strategy of control second only to yours." She thought to herself, "Beatrix, I cannot attack this turn, so I will defer to you." She told her.

Beatrix drew her card and sighed, "Whew, am I glad that you can't attack yet." She said as she looked at her card, "I summon Bountiful Artemis in defense mode and end my turn."

Bountiful Artemis ATK 1600 DEF 1700

Freya drew, "Alright, now I'm no longer going to have to worry about having no cards in my hand for a while. I activate the spell card Life Force Draw! By paying a thousand life points a card, I can keep drawing until I decide to stop, so lets go!" She began drawing card after card, speaking in a hushed voice as she decided when she should stop, and finally ceased after drawing five cards, "Okay, so I drew five cards, so I'll pay five thousand. Thanks to my Spell Absoptions though, I'll actually only pay four thousand."

Freya's Life Points: 10000

Freya smiled as she looked in her hand and thought, "Alright, with these cards in my hand, my victory is assured!" Freya pointed to Beatrix, "This duel ends now! I'll begin your downfall with my final Life Force Cannon."

A beam of blue light struck Beatrix again, repeating the same old process that she was now used to.

Beatrix's Life Points: 1400

Freya's Life Points: 10500

Freya then took out her favorite and most powerful card, and with her life points so much higher than Beatrix's, she would easily defeat her opponent and still have more than two times her starting score. She slid the spell card in her duel disk and began to tell Beatrix of its effect, "This is the final spell card Beatrix. This is Life Force Cannon Mark II! Unlike the first one, Mark II allows me to pay any amount of life points to damage you accordingly! So by paying fourteen hundred life points, I can defeat you and win the duel! You may be good a turning the attacks of monsters, but you cannot stop a spell card!"

A gigantic white and blue laser cannon appeare before Freya, and several tubes on the back side of the cannon stretched out and came within a hair's width of Freya's body. Her body became enclosed in a blue aura again, and that aura was sucked through the tubes and powered the powerful laser. The cannon began charging, and aimed directly at Beatrix through her swords and monsters. Beatrix pressed a button on her duel disk and replied to Freya, "Actually, I can stop that too." She announced as the face-down card that had been on her field for most of the duel raised for all to see, "With Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell, I can negate the activation of your Life Force Cannon Mark II, and also make the spell forbidden for you to play again for the rest of the duel!"

Freya looked on in horror as the her cannon slowly vanished from the field, "This can't be happening! Even though I have another Life Force Cannon Mark II in my hand, I can't activate it because of that curse!" She thought to herself.

Kaiser smiled to himself while he was watching the duel, "Well, it appears that Beatrix isn't ready to admit defeat yet."

Freya smiled, "Well, it seems that you have stopped my most powerful card Beatrix!" She comended the younger duelist.

Beatris smiled back at her opponent, "That isn't the best part, when my trap was activated, I can draw one card." She said as she looked at the card she drew and smiled even wider when she saw what it was, "And since I drew Voltanis the Adjudicator, and the activation of my counter trap card was a success, I can special summon him! I offer Airknight Parshath and Bountiful Artemis as tributes to summon Voltanis the Adjudicator!" The two fairies in front of Beatrix disappeared and were replaced by the great fairy descending from upon high. Voltanis settled in front of Beatrix and raised its staff into the air, "Also, I can destroy cards on the field equal to the amount of tributed monsters, so say goodbye to your Spell Absorptions!"

Voltanis the Adjudicator ATK 2800 DEF 1400

The purple light from the Adjudicator's staff struck Freya's spell cards, and caused them to disappear. Freya looked almost delighted to see that Beatrix, who had been under her heel the entire duel had not only stopped some of her best spells, but she had a monster on the field even more powerful than her tank, "Well, that's surprising."

Beatrix sighed in relief, glad to finally have the field advntage, "Well, how are you going to end your turn Freya?"

Freya looked at her hand, which now had three cards in it, and the perfect situation to summon her own key monster, "Well, I'm not done yet. I'll pay eight hundred life points to special summon Life Force Director - Mecha Tech I."

Freya's Life Points: 9700

"And now I'll sacrifice my Life Force Cannon and Life Force Director to summon my ultimate monster; Life Force Giant - Mech Tech IV!" Freya exclaims as her two monsters disappear to make way for a gigantic white machine with thick forearms and red stripes running up and down, defining the figure of the imposing giant.

Life Force Giant - Mecha Tech IV ATK 1000 DEF 1000

The giant mech's blue eyes shined to life, and it opened its palm and thrusted down toward its summoner. A massive blue tube shot out from its hand, and Freya's blue aura began to enter the machine, "Sure, its original attack points are low, but when its summoned, I can give up any amount of my my life points to increase both its attack and defense by the same value, and I'm going to pay six thousand!"

Freya's Life Points: 3700

Life Force Giant - Mecha Tech IV ATK 7000 DEF 7000

Beatrix looked on in awe as the giant gained so much power, "Well, way to make my monster look insignificant..." She said feeling downtrodden, "Oh well, at least my Swords are still in effect so you can't attack for two more turns."

Freya chuckled, "Yeah, but good luck defeating my Life Force Giant!"

Kaiser leaned forward, taking great interest in this duel. He had heard stories of the Life Force Giant, that it was a card foresaken by hundreds of duelists lucky enough to have gotten it, because of its incredibly hard to use effects. It was great to see someone actually use that card to its fullest potential,. Beatrix was no dueling slouch either; she had managed to completly dismantle Freya's best strategy, and did not look like she was ready to give up, even in the face of a seven thousand attack point monster.

Beatrix drew her card, "Darn, nothing. Your turn."

Freay drew, "I'll set a monster face-down in defense mode and end my turn."

Beatrix followed suit, but this time she smile wide when she saw what card she had gotten, "I activate the spell card Smashing Ground to destroy your monster with the highest defense strength, and since that is most obviously your Life Force Giant, it will be smashed."

Freya waved her finger in front of her, "Not so fast Beatrix. Life Force Giant can negate your spell if I pay a thousand life points, so its your Smashing Ground's that's gonna get smashed!"

As the massive fist was about to collide with the giant, the Life Force Giant began to glow a bright blue created from Freya's life force. The fist hit the head of the huge machine, and instead of crushing the monster like it had many others, it shattered and the giant was left unharmed. Beatrix laughed as she took her Smashing Gounds card, and put it in the graveyard slot of her duel disk, "Wow, now that's a monster! How am I gonna beat it?"

Freya's Life Points 2700

Freya smiled, but her voice was serious, "You can't, not when I play it. All I need to do is wait a few more turns, and I will defeat you."

Beatrix suddenly looked serious as well, "I will find a way, I refuse to submit."

Freya smiled confidently, "Then let's see who'll win. My turn, draw!" She said as she took the top card off of her deck, "End my turn. Next turn I get to attack, so you'd best be prepared for it Beatrix."

As the final sword disappeared from Beatrix's side of the field, she took her last card and hoped for something that would save her, "I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

Freya took her last card and pointed at Voltanis the Adjudicator, "You foolishly left your Voltanis in attack mode, so you'll lose when my giant attacks it. You need to be more focused during a duel. Life Force Giant, attack Voltanis the Adjudicator with Ultima Burst!"

The giant mech pointed its right fist at Voltanis, and as it did, a large laser cannon shot out from its forearm. A sharp blue light shot forth from this giant's powerful weapon, and imposed upon Voltanis, but before the deadly light could incinerate Beatrix's favorite monster, the card Beatrix had set rose from the field, "Seems all those attack points have blinded you Freya, because I set a trap card called Magic Cylinder! All of those attack points are going to be redirected toward you!"

The blinding beam entered one of the two cylinders, and came out the other one, this time aimed at Freya, "Oh, no!" Freya shouted as the huge beam completely covered her. When the beam finally dissipated, Freya could be seen kneeling, clutching her side. Even though holograms were supposed to be painless, the horrifying sight of such a powerful laser is enough to convince the mind that it was real.

Freya pounded the ground with her fist lightly, "Darn, I was hoping I could defeat you so Kaiser would notice me." She said silently as the holograms disappeared.

Beatrix walked over to Freya and bent over to talk to her, "Don't feel bad Freya, you are one strong duelist, I'm sure Kaiser will recognize that even if you didn't win. Although, you may want to watch out for those traps in the future." She advised with a chuckle.

Freya laughed too, "Yeah, I was a little blind there."

Footsteps could be heard approaching the two friends; they looked up to find Kaiser, "Well done you two. I haven't seen such a good duel in a long time."

"Oh! Ah, thank you Kaiser!" Freya said hurriedly.

"Please, call me Cyrus." He told them.

Freya giggled uncontrollably so Beatrix had to cover for her, "Well, its better than calling you Kaiser."

Freya was visably blushing while she was contemplating calling the Kaiser by his name, "He he, mister Cytus..." She said silently to herself.

Cyrus did not hear Freya, because he had turned his attention to Beatrix, "You have a very adaptable strategy. We might just cross paths when you pick up your game." Cyrus then turned and walked away.

Beatrix was beginning to fume with anger at Cyrus' arrogant statement, but was cut off before she could by Freya, "Beatrix..." She said in a jealous voice, "Are you trying to steal Cyrus away from me?" She questioned her friend.

Beatrix forgot her anger to quickly respond to Freya, "W-what?! No I'm not! Its not my fault!" She stammered, trying to convince her friend that she was not moving in on her territory.

The school year has just begun, and Beatrix has just felt the presence of the elite at Duel Academy. Even though she had defeated her new friend Freya, she knew that there were even more powerful duelists on this island with her. There was still the rematch with Candace that she needed, and then there was Kaiser Cyrus, the greatest duelist in the school. She would have to meet these challenges head first.

Author's Note: Man, I'm sorry for the long freaking break I took from this story. I sincerely thank everone who has reviewed GX Shuffle, and everyone who has added me as either a favorite author or added this story as a favorite story. That was all the assurance I needed to continue work on this, not to mention the fun I have crafting all these new cards. I actually really like Freya's Life Force monsters, but we haven't even seek Kaiser Cyrus' cards. I hope you enjoy it as much I enjoyed writing it. Now, its time for today's strongest card, brought to you by all of you!

Today's Strongest Card

Life Force Cannon Mark II/Normal Spell Card

You can only activate this card when you have three "Life Force Cannons" in the Graveyard. Pay any amount of life points to inflict an equal amount of damage to your opponent's life points.


	4. Turn 4

Turn 4: Trouble in the Red Dorm – The Stacked Deck

Beatrix was peacefully napping outside of the main academy building when she heard a panicked voice accompanied by the pattering of feet on the ground. Her eyes snapped open before she had gotten any real rest, and saw that the voice most definitely belonged to Gein, the Slifer Red boy she had defended from bullies the other day. The boy looked at her pleadingly, hoping desperately that she would have the answer to his question, "Beatrix, please tell me you know something about Mr. Alphase's deck! All I've heard from the others is that it is impossible to defeat!"

Beatrix was too tired and too confused to properly check her memory for anything concerning that particular deck, but even so, she could not remember anything. That either meant that she had never heard of Alphase's deck or her sleepiness was more than she had originally thought. She was going to bet on the former, "Huh? No, I haven't heard anything, but there is no such thing as an impossible deck. I'm sure they must have been exaggerating."

Gein chuckled, "Yeah, you're probably right. Now that I think about it, those Ra guys must have just been pulling my leg as a practical joke."

Beatrix raised her eyebrow at this, sure some of the less talented Slifer students would find their headmaster's deck hard, but if Ra's disciples said it was impossible, then this was cause for investigation. She stood up, thankful that her Friday classes had just ended, "Hm, well I'm interested now. Let's see if we can't turn up any information about Alphase's deck. I know someone who might be able to help" She said as she dialled Freya's number on her academy issued cell phone.

Gein bowed his head, "Thank you Beatrix." He said sincerely.

Freya came running up after several minutes of waiting. She was reading books on real magic and its correlation to Duel Monsters in the academy library when Beatrix called her. She stopped short of the pair and put her hands on her knees while breathing hard, "I'm here!"

Beatrix shook her head, "You didn't have to come here you know, you could have just told me on the phone."

Freya regained her composure, "I know, but I'm bored. So, what was it that you needed to know?"

Gein approached Freya, "Mr. Alphase's deck; do you know anything about it?"

Freya smiled wide when she saw Gein, and put her hand in his hair and proceeded to mess it up, "Aww, who is this little guy?"

Beatrix laughed as Gein whined in protest, "My name is Edgar Gein, now could you please unhand me?"

Freya continued laughing as she took her hand out of Gein's hair, which was now sufficiently messy, "And he's so prim and proper too!"

Gein, while a composed youth, who had become slightly annoyed with Freya by this point, proceeded to restore his hair to its previous neatness. Beatrix managed to stifle her chuckles long enough to continue to question Freya, "Well, do you know anything about Alphase's deck?"

Freya nodded, "Yeah, he's famous as the ogre of Slifer Red, and quite possibly the most powerful of the three headmasters; even better than the principal even."

Gein scoffed, "Stronger than Dr. Crowler? I doubt that very highly."

Freya put on her thinking face as she tried to remember what she had heard about Alphase's deck, "Well, a lot of this is second-hand, but I have heard about his deck from a second year who dueled Alphase in order to graduate to Ra Yellow. He said that every single monster he summoned was destroyed, and that he couldn't even touch Alphase's life points. I don't know what that means, but it tells me that Alphase is definitely no opponent to take lightly."

Beatrix whistled, "Wow that sure is some legend. So, why did you want to know Gein?"

Gein swallowed, and tried to look brave, "Well, because I have to duel him."

Freya shook her head, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, good luck little guy."

Beatrix clasped her hand on Gein's shoulder, "Come on Gein, I'm sure you can defeat this guy; I said that you have talent! Make principal Crowler proud of you, and go kill this ogre!"

Gein stood firm, bolstered by Beatrix's words, "Yeah, Dr. Crowler personally trained me; I'm not about to cower in fear of any duelist! Thank you Beatrix and Freya for your help, I'm going to challenge Mr. Alphase to our duel now instead of tomorrow." He said with confidence as he began running off in the direction of the Slifer dorm.

Freya smiled and shook her head, "Well, you certainly have your way with words, don't you Beatrix?"

Beatrix turned her head to hide her blush, "I don't know what you're talking about." She stated.

Freya then jumped in shock as she remembered something that Gein had said, "He was personally trained by the principal!?"

It was at the point that even Beatrix jumped out of her seat, "Yeah, you're right, he did say that! If he was trained by principal Crowler, then why is he in Slifer Red?"

Over at the red dorm, Gein knocked on the headmaster's dorm, which was promptly answered by the man dwelling there, "Hm, Edgar Gein; what do you want?" He asked the young boy.

Gein smiled politely at the headmaster, "Mr. Alphase, I would like for our duel to commence now rather than tomorrow." He asked with a gentlemanly composure.

Alphase shook his head, "No. I'm busy now, tomorrow will be fine." He said as he closed the door, "I'm sure you should know that as a gentleman you should be patient and wait for the set appointment rather than impulsively requesting that it come sooner."

Gein's head drooped as his headmaster scolded him, knowing that he was right, "Oh, yes sir."

Alphase went back to his desk, which had several small stacks of cards on it. There was a pile of monsters, spells, and traps each lined up in a neat row with a larger stack of cards to their right. Alphase lifted the rightmost stack and began looking through it, carefully studying each and every card as he either set them in one of the three other stacks, or putting them in a separate pile for rejects. He smiled devilishly as he looked over the three stacks that would become his pride and joy, and said, "Soon, Jaden Yuki, soon you will be revealed as the weakling you really are. Then, the crown will be awarded to a more qualified duelist." He said with purpose, as he continued working on his deck; the deck that would dethrone the King of Games.

Beatrix and Freya sat in front of the school, talking about the subject that Freya was reading about before Beatrix called her, forgetting for the moment about the fact that Gein was trained by the principal. The main topic was on the subject of spirit partners, "Well, some of the greatest duelists in the world have been documented as having a spirit partner. Jaden, Jessie, and even the legendary Yugi are among them."

Beatrix smiled as she took all this information in, not expecting to be learning much else today, "Well, that's all interesting. Sometimes I feel as if Voltanis is watching over me, and helping me just when I need him most. Although, the spirit partners you're talking about actually speak to their partners; I haven't conversed with Voltanis, so I guess it's not the same thing."

Freya smiled and shook her head, "Well, we don't know that. I haven't read everything there is to read on it yet, but I think that the monster's spirits help a duelist out by not only coming before them and speaking, but by also doing what Voltanis is doing for you. I see it all the time whenever I go to the Obelisk arena; people who are getting creamed make an unremarkable last minute comeback that wins them the duel, and it's all because they drew their critical card, often a monster, at just the right time. The King of Games, Jaden Yuki, does it all the time, and it's not just him; many famous duelists draw their key monster just as they're about to win. I knew it was no coincidence, so that's why I took to studying the real magic that the Duel Monsters card game is based off of."

It was a lot of information for Beatrix to digest, but she understood the grand majority of it, "Wow, you must've studied long and hard to get that information!"

Freya smiled, "Heh, heh, yeah I kinda did."

Beatrix leaned back; slightly glad the Freya's lecture was over, because the fact that she found the information intriguing far outweighed the fact that that was her seventh lecture of the day and she was filled to the brim with knowledge. However, before she got enough time to properly digest this new information along with everything else she was required to memorize that day, something else happened that would keep her from her well deserved rest.

Gein walked slowly back to the front of the building, where he half-expected to find Beatrix, and proceeded to inform her of his dealings with the Slifer Red headmaster, "Well, I'm not dueling him today." He said forlorn.

Beatrix sat back straight again, "Why not?"

Gein shrugged, "Because he's busy, apparently."

Freya's mouth twisted into a strange position as if she were in deep thought, "Yeah, I wonder what he keeps doing all the time. Always locking himself in his room, and refusing to come out for anything. It's really suspicious."

Gein sighed, "Well. I guess I should just go and wait for our duel then." Gein said and began to depart. The short boy got several feet away before turning again to face Beatrix and Freya, "Beatrix, I owe you an exhibition. Come watch my duel tomorrow inside the Slifer dojo at seven o'clock in the morning."

Upon hearing that, Freya jumped up and exclaimed, "Ooh, ooh, let me come too! I want to see Alphase's deck!"

Gein chuckled to himself and said, "Sure, you can come along as well."

Freya shouted out in glee as Beatrix nodded to Gein, "Okay, we'll be there."

That next morning came swiftly, and Beatrix and Freya found themselves sitting on the floor of a run-down dojo-style training hall that was situated in the Slifer Red dorm. Gein stood on the right across from Alphase; both were wearing the same standard academy issue Duel Disk. Gein, who had the entire night before to contemplate the coming duel, began to feel nervous again. Alphase was still a headmaster with a rather infamous reputation of being an ogre, and seeing the man standing opposite of him was quite imposing. Once the two began drawing cards, there was no time left to dread. Now was the time for Gein to meet the ogre face-to-face, and give his all to defeat it. Beatrix's words echoed in his head, and gave him inspiration. He was trained by the illustrious Dr. Crowler, and he was the heir to the Ancient Gears. He had to prove his worth now, not just to himself, but to Crowler and Beatrix who believed in him.

Gein and Alphase drew their five cards, and then at the same time said, "Duel!" in a strong voice.

Beatrix turned her head to Freya, "Uh, what?"

Freya smiled and shook her head at her friend's ignorance, "It's an old custom in Duel Monsters to say the word 'duel' just before a duel. I don't know why, but I'm pretty sure people got tired of it and stopped saying it."

"Oh"

While Beatrix and Freya were chatting, Alphase had already ended his turn, the first turn of the duel. On his side of the field were two face-down cards, one was a trap and the other was a monster in defense mode. Alphase knew that there was not much he could do on his first turn, but he knew that no matter what, he was going to go by unharmed during Gein's turn.

Gein drew his sixth card, and then set two trap cards on the field and then presented a card to his headmaster, "I activate the spell card Gryphon's Feather Duster! This strange by beneficial card destroys my spell and traps, but give me five hundred life points per card. By destroying the two cards I just set, I can increase my life points by one thousand!"

Gein's Life Points: 5000

Alphase scowled, "But why destroy two perfectly good cards just to gain a small amount of life points?"

Freya scratched her chin as she contemplated what Alphase had said, but quickly made up her mind, "Yeah, even I wouldn't do that."

Just then, a voice came from between the two girls, thus surprising the both of them so much that they jumped up from where they were seated, "I'm pretty sure I know why!" Said a proud and amused Dr. Crowler.

Still recovering from her shock, Beatrix said, "W-why are you here?"

"And how did you get between us without us knowing?" Freya added, her heart pounding so hard that she would not doubt it if everyone else could hear it.

"That is a principal's prerogative. Now watch this duel girls, you might just learn something." The principal of the academy said in a silent voice so as not to further disturb the duel.

Gein smiled as two golden monsters shined out of existence just in front of him, "Because that, when destroyed, my Wicked Statues gave me Wicked Tokens that I could use as tributes to summon my greatest monster, the Ancient Gear Golem!"

The antique mechanical monstrosity rose from the ground in front of Gein, desert sand pouring out of its cavities and its eyes shining to life as a great crimson. The giant humanoid slouched, showing the bad posture that time had given it, but it still had much of its original power.

Ancient Gear Golem ATK 3000 DEF 3000

"Now, Ancient Gear Golem, attack Mr. Alphase's monster with Ultimate Pound!" Gein ordered his favourite monster.

Gears whirled within the Ancient Gear Golem, and it launched its giant metallic fist at the horizontal card before Alphase. The headmaster covered his head with his arms to weather the attack from Gein's powerful monster. He knew that since the Ancient Gear Golem stopped his traps, there was nothing he could do but take the hit. His monster was destroyed with ease, and the giant mech's fist continued through to strike him.

Alphase's Life Points: 2000

Alphase whipped his arms back down to his sides after that great attack that halved his life points, "That was a powerful move Edgar, I am impressed!"

Beatrix promptly stood up after hearing this, she was confused by what the Slifer Headmaster had said. It was a nice thing to say, but that was just it, it was a nice thing to say. Certainly not something an elitist ogre like Alphase was made out to be would say, and she wanted to get to the bottom of this, "Wait a minute! Aren't you supposed to be telling him that his move was insignificant and that he was doomed no matter what?"

Alphase shook his head at Beatrix, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, who said I doubted his ability? I challenged Gein to this duel because I respect him as a duelist."

Beatrix's mouth hung wide open when she heard Alphase's answer, "But, aren't you the ogre of the red dorm? The untouchable duelist who mercilessly tossed duelists out of the ring?"

Alphase chuckled as Beatrix regaled him with the legend of his past, "That's true, all of it, but it does not mean that I am mean. Now, it is my turn, draw!" He said as he drew his card, "I activate the spell card Smashing Ground, which will destroy your Ancient Gear Golem!"

Purple clouds appeared above the field, dulling the light in the small dojo so that it was hard to see what was going on. Without warning, a giant fist slammed down upon Gein's golem. The Ancient Gear Golem buckled under the pressure of this assault, and the screech of bending and ripping metal filled the entire red dorm, temporarily deafening everyone in the building. Gein looked on in horror as his favourite monster was completely destroyed effortlessly by his headmaster's spell and said, "You smashed my golem!"

Alphase then slapped another monster on the face of his Duel Disk, "That's not all; I summon Snipe Hunter in attack mode!"

A sinister looking imp appeared before Alphase, pointing a very strange looking little gun at Gein. The imp's gun had a circle on the butt end with six sectors, the numbers one through six painted on and a piece of metal acting as a pointer. The creature gave a creepy little laugh, possibly the grim plans that it had in store for the little duelist.

Snipe Hunter ATK 1500 DEF 600

Alphase took a card and slid it into the graveyard slot of his Duel Disk, "I will now activate the effect of Snipe Hunter. I discard Call of the Grave for the Death Roulette!" The metal pointer on Snipe Hunter's gun began spinning at a whirlwind rate. Gein watched this with great interest, wondering what would happen when the pointer stopped. Finally the Death Roulette came to a stop, and the pointer rested on the number five. Alphase laughed triumphantly and informed Gein of his fate, "Since the number five came up, your trap will be destroyed!"

Snipe Hunter laughed maniacally as it pointed its little gun at the face-down card in front of the Slifer Red student, and fired at it. Gein raised his eyebrow as he glanced at the card in front of him shatter, but instead of looking scared or even disappointed, he had a look of glee on his face, "You pressed it!" He exclaimed.

Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, a large red button appeared on Alphase's side of the field. Snipe Hunter looked at the button with great interest, apparently wondering what it was for. The words 'do not press' were written in bold white letters across the face of the button, and then a giant gray finger fell from the heavens and pressed the button. The resulting large explosion rocked the dojo, and Gein looked on with confidence as his headmaster took another large blow.

Alphase's Life Points: 1000

"You see, destroying Kozaky's Self-Destruct button is equivalent to pressing it, and the player that presses it takes one thousand points of damage."

Alphase coughed and smiled, "Well, that was definitely odd, but that's not all to my move. Since Call of the Grave was destroyed, I can select one monster in your graveyard and send all such monsters in your deck to keep it company!"

Beatrix, Freya, and Cowler all gasped when they heard this, and Gein's eyes widened in horror when he realized that his favourite monster was just taken from him for the rest of the duel. Freya then sighed and said, "Oh well, he could just use Premature Burial to revive it. No harm, no foul." She said like a know-it-all, and Beatrix also relaxed, assuming she was correct.

Dr. Crowler knew better, however, and told her the truth, "Not the golem I'm afraid. The Ancient Gear Golem cannot be special summoned, so it cannot be revived. There is little chance of drawing Ancient Gear Garage too; poor boy will have to do without the Gear Golem." Upon hearing this, both girls hung their heads in shame for not knowing that.

Alphase then continued with his turn, "Now, attack player directly with Snipe Hunter!"

The evil little imp smiled devilishly as it pointed its gun at Gein with impunity, and fired yet another bullet, this time aimed at the young boy. Gein doubled over holding his gut as the hologram bullet struck him. It was all role play, but he was sure that such an attack, if real, would have definitely hurt worse than he could even imagine.

Gein's Life Points: 3500

Alphase put a card in his Duel Disk, "Set one card face-down, and I will end my turn." He then thought, "With Trap Hole on the field, no matter what monster Gein can possible turn out, it will fall into the hole and be destroyed. Even though Ancient Gears stop spells and traps when they attack, they are not immune to traps when they are summoned. I will annihilate every card he has, and slowly bring his life points to zero."

Gein looked at the card he drew and the monster already in his hand. He had just drawn the Ancient Gear Beast, and he had The Trojan Horse in his hand, with this he could still defeat Alphase, but it was going to be tricky and require a good amount of luck, "I summon The Trojan Horse in attack mode!"

Alphase pressed a button on his Duel Disk as Gein summoned his monster, "I chain Trap Hole; your monster is destroyed."

Just as the wooden horse shined to life, it sank quickly into a hole. Gein snapped his fingers as his monster disappeared; this was not what he needed right now. His opponent may have had only one thousand life points, less than one third of his own, but his opponent had the field advantage, and it looked like he was going to have it long enough to win. There was nothing he could do, "I end my turn." He said sorrowfully.

Alphase drew his card, it was Confiscation, a card he could not use at the moment, but since he had such a commanding presence on the field, it was of no consequence. He simply pointed at Gein, and said, "Attack player directly!"

The baleful imp pointed its gun at Gein again, and fired another round into the boys stomach. Gein bent over again, clutching his abdomen. He groaned in frustration, as he truly wondered if he was going to be able to defeat Alphase. What truly stung him now was the fact that he was so close to victory, and yet so far. This was the skill of the ogre of the red dorm; his strategy to increase the skill of his students was now painfully clear: accept only those skilled enough to get through this vicious gauntlet of monster destruction, and cut all of those too weak to do anything. It was too much to bear, but he could not disagree with the theory. The only question left was: was he strong enough to make the cut?

Gein's Life Points: 2000

After recovering from his bruised confidence, Gein drew his card, and it was his turn to feel joy, "I activate the magic of Premature Burial!"

Freya crossed her arms, "But that won't work, Ancient Gear Golem can't be special summoned."

Principal Crowler was about to speak when Beatrix cut him off, however still watching the duel intently, "That's not his plan!"

Gein's Life Points: 1200

"I will revive my Trojan Horse, and then sacrifice it to summon my Ancient Gear Beast!" Gein exclaimed.

As the Trojan Horse quickly disappeared for the second time in the duel, a large mechanical hound leapt into the fray with an oddly realistic howl. The machine looked broken down in places, but it still held a feral presence about it that imposed even on the Snipe Hunter, who was cowering in front of it. Gein pointed at the poor imp and smiled, "This is for hitting me twice you little jerk! Attack Snipe Hunter with Millennium Pounce!"

The mechanical beast pounced on the frightened imp with no hesitation, the imp cried out in pain and horror before it shattered. A gust of dust blew back toward Alphase, and struck him with great force, causing him to grunt loudly.

Alphase's Life Points: 500

Alphase quickly drew his card, knowing full well that Gein could not do anything else, I summon Cyber Gymnast in attack mode!" With that, a toned female body flipped out of nowhere and appeared on the field kneeling. It gazed through its white mask at Gein, which unnerved him, "I'll discard Confiscation to destroy your Ancient Gear Beast!" With that, the Cyber Gymnast began its flipping and cartwheels anew, but when it reached Gein's Ancient Gear Beast, it delivered a single powerful kick that knocked the mechanical dog's head off, and without the head, the rest of the machine fell to pieces. Alphase's monster returned to defend him from any of Gein's attacks, "With that, I'll end my turn."

Freya put rested her head on her hands, clasping her palms on the sides of her face, "Mm, how does one defeat a guy who just doesn't let you have any monsters on the field?"

Beatrix shook her head, "I don't know, I'm kind of intimidated by Alphase, but the duel isn't over yet. Not by a long shot. Gein can still turn this thing around."

Dr. Crowler smiled and nodded, "Yes, Gein has shown me time and again that he has the talent to fight on even ground with ogres."

Gein drew his card, and turned it over for Alphase to see. It was a spell card with the picture of two men in suits before a pile of gold, each man holding his arm out to invite the other to take from the pile, "I activate Gentlemanly Greed, with this card, I can draw a card only if you do, and I can draw again if you do so again, but that's it. What do you say Mr. Alphase?" Gein said, motioning with his arm for Alphase to go ahead.

Alphase smiled, "Sure, I'll draw once. I'm not a very greedy man, so I'm fine with one card," He said as he took one card from the top of his deck.

Gein drew once after Alphase did, and looked at his card. He smiled and looked toward his mentor, Dr. Crowler, who nodded back. Gein then lifted his card high in the air, "I activate Magnet Circle LV10! This spell card draws together the spare parts of three destroyed Ancient Gear Golems, and rebuilds it into a more power machine! Mr. Alphase, meet the Ancient Gear Titan!"

An elaborate circle appeared on the ground between Alphase and drew in the broken up limbs and loose gears from his three dismantled Gear Golems. The pieces rose into the air, and merged to become one with incredible magnetic force. Soon, an even larger that normal Ancient Gear Golem appeared before Gein, taking up his entire side of the field. This titan stood so tall that it had to hunch over even more than normal and kneel to fit inside the room. All eyes were pointed skyward as this towering behemoth grunted to life.

Ancient Gear Titan ATK 4000 DEF 4000

Gein waved his right hand in a dignified manner, "Ancient Gear Titan will attack Cyber Gymnast, and since it deals piercing battle damage, this duel will end! Omega Crush!"

The gigantic machine reared back with its right fist, and then launched a powerful blow that instantly shattered Cyber Gymnast and continued toward Alphase. The fist hit the ground just in front of Alphase, but the shockwaves knocked Alphase far and into the wall behind him. Beatrix and Freya jumped up and celebrated Gein's victory, and Crowler stood up with pride.

Alphase's Life Points: 0

Beatrix and Freya ran over to Gein, and celebrated with him, and Crowler stood nearby with the dignity Gein wished he could have at that moment. Alphase stood up after a short period of recovery, and walked over to Gein, "You have bested my Smashing Deck; congratulations are in order Edgar Gein. You have my blessing to enter the Ra Yellow dorm at any time."

Beatrix and Freya stopped their celebration when they heard what Alphase had said, Gein himself was honestly surprised as well. He had not even considered entering the higher dorm levels at this point in his academic career, and he was not aware that this duel was a test. He turned to his mentor, who told him of the entire situation, "Mr. Alphase here has seen some of your duels, and personally came to me to request a duel with you as a test. He wanted you to go into Ra Yellow if you could win, and you have. What do you say?"

Gein smiled, but shook his head at this invitation, "I am afraid that I have to decline your kind invitation. Like you told me a year ago Dr. Crowler, the spirit of the red dorm is its greatest asset, and I can feel it from those that I had dueled here in this dorm. I do not wish to leave just yet." Gein then turned to Alphase, "If I may ask sir, could you please reward my victory by taking it a little easier on my peers? I understand that you would want to strengthen the academy by cutting the weak down until they get stronger, but this method is killing the soul of these duelists. Allow them to grow strong on their own, and I can assure you, they will grow strong. I was once a pitiful duelist until Dr. Crowler taught me. He allowed me to grow on my own, and now I am strong enough to enter the Ra Dorm."

Alphase crossed his arms while he contemplated Gein's request, "Hmm, I can see what you mean Edgar. You have my word as a gentleman; I will take it easier on the red dorm."

That night, the red dorm celebrated the victory of Gein, the duelist who defeated the ogre of Slifer Red. They never learned of his opportunity to advance to the yellow dorm, or even the specifics of how he saved them from the ogre, but they celebrated all the same. Beatrix and Freya were there as well, and so was principal Crowler, although only for a minute. Alphase may have agreed to go easier on the red dorm, but he did not agree to abandon his ambition.

Free Talk

Hoo boy, there are quite a few references here. Beatrix's reaction to Alphase not acting like the bad guy he's supposed to be is my little way of breaking the fourth wall, and lampooning the typical episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! Gein's reaction to Alphase using Smashing Ground to destroy his Golem is an inside joke that only I and my friend Chad would understand. I'd love to tell you, but then it wouldn't be an inside joke anymore. "You pressed it!" is something that Gein has said before, this means that he appears somewhere other than in GX Shuffle. Yes, there are people in this world who will recognize some of my characters from somewhere else. Magnet Circle LV10 is a reference to Magnet Circle LV2, which does not specifically help Ancient Gears and is really nothing like my level ten version. I'm sure there are others, but you will have to find them. As for me, I have just finished my first day at university, and I sincerely hope that I won't be too bogged down with homework to work on Shuffle. If I don't seem to be updating, it's because of school, not because I have lost interest. I'd also like to say thanks to Wolf, my anonymous reviewer; I'm glad you feel that Beatrix is an easy medium, that's what I wanted. I was actually a tad worried that readers would find Beatrix a tad weak to be a main character. I hope you all enjoy this turn, and have a good day. Remember: fair play, fair duel.

Today's Strongest Card

Ancient Gear Titan/Level 10/EARTH/Machine/Effect

This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of "Magnet Circle LV10". While this monster is face-up on the field, you cannot summon any monsters. This card is unaffected by the effects of Spell and Trap cards. This card deals Piercing battle damage.

ATK 4000 DEF 4000


	5. Turn 5

Turn 5: Find Them Out – Who are the Spirit Callers?

It was a three-day weekend at Duel Academy, and students were all either in their dorms relaxing, or out and about. Either way, everyone was happy for a moment, because classes were cancelled. Beatrix spent her time wandering around the empty Obelisk Blue arena, hoping to have gotten some dueling practice while she had the time. She stood in the middle of the giant platform; and after a while, stomped lightly in slight frustration. Freya, who had been in the middle of going somewhere, saw Beatrix in the corner of her eye. She passed the door, but then turned and ran back to the doorway so she could yell out, "Hey Beatrix, the duel arena is normally empty during the long weekends. Not many people want to duel when there's nobody watching them, and others don't like to take time away from other things. So, you know, there's no reason in waiting."

Beatrix sighed, "That's too bad. I wanted to challenge somebody today..." She whined, "Hey, Freya, how about a rematch?"

Freya shook her head, "No, I've got somewhere I gotta be. See you later!" She waved goodbye to her friend, and began walking to here destination again.

Beatrix remained where she was, hoping against hope that someone would come to play Duel Monsters. She stood in the center of the dueling platform just waiting patiently for several minutes. After what seemed like hours, she decided to give it up, and go back to her room, but then, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard coming in her direction. It sounded like it came from a football star, and it ran right into the duel arena. Beatrix looked on in horror as it came into sight; it was a huge rat with enormous glowing red eyes, a thick whip-like tail, and gray jagged teeth. It stood in front of Beatrix, standing on its hide legs it was two times taller than the frightened girl. It opened its mouth and came down upon Beatrix, and she covered her head with her arms, but before the rat could bite her head off, a bright white light erupted from Beatrix's Duel Disk, and it repelled the vermin back. Beatrix uncovered her eyes to see the rat standing ten feet away from her, but this time it had a dirty green device on its right arm. Beatrix studied the device carefully, and came to the conclusion that it was a Duel Disk, "Duel?" She asked in a meek voice.

With that, the rat drew six cards, and Beatrix drew five; the girl marvelled at how the beast knew the standard rule of challenger goes first. The rat set a card on its Duel Disk, and a large beast appeared before Beatrix. It looked like a white rhino, but it stood like a human on bird's legs whose colour matched perfectly with the wings. This beast dressed for war, and had a large wicked bludgeon in its right hand. Freya ran in through the door that the rat used to enter. She gasped as she saw her friend dueling the hideous creature.

Winged Rhynos ATK 1800 DEF 500

The rat made no other action, and so it was Beatrix's turn, she drew her card and began her move immediately, "I activate the ritual spell, Shinato's Ark, and offer Majestic Mech – Goryu as a sacrifice to summon Shinato, King of a Higher Plane!"

A translucent image of the great heavenly dragon appeared before Beatrix for a moment, and when it disappeared, the purple skinned seraphim who ruled the fairies descended from upon high, bathed in a bright light. The angel settled in front of Beatrix, floating a few inches from the ground.

Shinato, King of a Higher Plane ATK 3300 DEF 3000

Beatrix was not done with her turn, however, "I now activate Revival of the Light, which allows me to discard as Light attribute Fairy type monster to revive a Light attribute Fairy type monster already in the graveyard, such as Majestic Mech – Goryu!" Another beam of light shined down from heaven, and illuminated the path for Beatrix's other monster, a great wyrm with a golden city on its back. Goryu floated high above the ground, just above Shinato, and it let out a deafening roar that struck fear into the rat.

Majestic Mech – Goryu ATK 2900 DEF 1800

"Finally, normal summon Bountiful Artemis in attack position!" Beatrix added.

Freya smiled, "Well, apparently Beatrix has got this all wrapped up."

Beatrix pointed at the giant rat, "I don't know where you came from, but its time for you to leave! Majestic Mech – Goryu, destroy my opponent's monster, and Shinato, King of a Higher Plane and Bountiful Artemis, attack the rat directly! Dominating Light Combination!"

The great heavenly wyrm breathed out white flames that destroyed Winged Rhynos with ease, and engulfed the giant rat, and when it had recovered from that, Bountiful Artemis threw a globe of white light at it, and finally Shinato came in with a shining punch that knocked it away. The rat collided with the wall, and subsequently shattered.

Beatrix shuffled her deck and then dusted her hands off dismissively, "I don't like rats." She added as if she were a movie hero.

Freya ran up to Beatrix and grabbed her hands with both of hers, "Wow, that was amazing Beatrix! You cleaned that things clock in one move!"

Beatrix blushed, "I just got lucky is all." Beatrix then realized that something very strange happened, and she had to ask about it, "Freya, do you know what that thing was? It definitely wasn't human."

Freya, with a calm head, explained to Beatrix, "It's a spirit Beatrix; I thought I told you about them."

Beatrix suddenly looked serious, "Yeah, but you didn't say anything about them attacking humans, or dueling, or whatnot!"

Freya turned away from Beatrix, and then turned back, "Well, I have heard a rumour." She started.

"What rumour?"

"A rumour that there is a group in Duel Academy dedicating to summoning the spirits of these monsters with the same magic that I have been studying. This must be proof of their existence."

Beatrix waved her arm to the side quickly, "This is dangerous! We have to alert the school board about this!"

Freya shook her head, "No, you don't want to do that." She said as she counted fingers to illustrate her points, "Firstly, you would be dismissed as a crazy girl; not good for picking up boyfriends. Secondly, they wouldn't even listen, though that goes with number one, its still worth mentioning. Thirdly, this is a secret society that has remained carefully hidden from the prying eyes of those at the academy. They wouldn't get caught even if somebody brought it to their attention." She then held out those three fingers out for Beatrix to see, "That's three good reasons right there.

Beatrix still looked adamant about doing something about this situation, her eyes flickered with an inner courage that not many were blessed with, "But we've got to do something! What if they summon more monsters? What if they get someone killed? I need to find them, and stop their evil immediately!" She said as she began walking off, not knowing where she was going, but at least knowing what she was going to do.

Freya held out her hand and shouted at her friend, "Wait! You can't do this alone! Let me come with you at least; I know about this magic, so I have more authority on this situation than you do."

Beatrix stood still and looked back at Freya, "Okay. I have no idea where to even start looking; do you have anything?"

Freya smiled, "I have something that may help you, but to use it, I'm going to need a copy of the card of the spirit that you have just defeated, a crystal pendant from my room, and your room."

"Why my room?"

"Because your room is in the North-East section of the Obelisk Blue Girl's dorm, mine is no good for scrying."

After an hour, all of the materials were brought to Beatrix's room, and Freya began a ritual that was completely foreign to Beatrix. She looked on with interest, but she could not make heads or tails of what was being done. Freya spoke in a language that Beatrix did not comprehend, possibly Egyptian, and she held the pendant over the card of Giant Rat that lay between the two girls, its top and bottom facing both of them. She swung the pendant in counter-clockwise rotation while she worked her magic. It took several dull moments before something strange happened. A thin purple cloud stretched out from the card, and went straight through the door and down the hall. Freya put her pendant away, and got up, "Okay, the trail will disappear in thirty minutes, so we've got to hurry!"

Beatrix got up as well, "Can everybody see the trail? Because I'm sure a purple line running through the academy will get some attention."

Freya shook her head, "No, only we can see the trail. It will lead us to the summoning location of the monster. If we're lucky, we might find a clue as to their whereabouts, now let's get going!"

Beatrix had no time left to ponder this oddity, as Freya took off like a missile right after saying her piece. Beatrix ran after her with all the speed she could muster; she was not used to running this fast, but she had to keep up with her friend. She had to stop these spirit summoners before they seriously hurt someone with their strange experiments. The cloud conveniently did not go in a straight line; it twisted and winded through the roads and through the hallways of the academy so the pursuers would not lose the trail. The trail lead the two girls to the Ra Yellow dorm, where they saw it go into a door on the side of the building. It was the entrance that janitors would use, and went directly into the janitorial room. Freya and Beatrix stopped at the door, both breathing heavily from their little run. Beatrix panted, and then looked angrily at Freya, "You had to run so fast?"

Freya laughed, "Didn't want to lose the trail!" She said with flair, "Now, how do we get in here? The door locks automatically?"

"Not only that, but only Ra Yellow students can get in there period..." Beatrix said as she contemplated the problem that was before them.

Freya twisted her mouth into a strange position while she thought of a solution, which only took exactly four seconds before she pounded her fist into her open palm, "I got it!" She said, before grabbing her cell phone and proceeded with her plan without informing Beatrix of what it was. It did not take long before her voice could be heard again, "Yeah, it's me. I need to call in a favour. Yes, two uniforms, I need access to the yellow dorm. Okay, thank you." Beatrix looked at Freya with an expression that voiced her confusion more than her words ever would, "What?" Freya asked her friend, "I helped these guys get by some tricky test before, they owe me!" She explained.

Beatrix looked around nervously, "Ahh, where are we supposed to change exactly?"

Freya put her hands on her hips, "The forest." Beatrix then gave her a very mad expression, "Aww, don't be such a girl." Beatrix's expression then got much more serious, "I was just kidding! What, did you really think we would have to get naked and change in the woods somewhere? Just put the yellow one over your blue one, it's not that difficult." She laughed.

Beatrix sighed in relief; she really did not want to have to change in the middle of nowhere where boys could possibly see her. Two Ra Yellow students came from inside the building and handed Freya the uniforms without exchanging words. The boys were dressed in street attire, since their only uniforms had just been given to her and Beatrix. Beatrix was sure to thank them, and told them that they would not be long. The boys nodded, and headed off toward the forest where they could hide, since being caught without a uniform was an offense punishable by detention. Wearing uniforms to sneak into another dorm was not in the code of conduct, due to the fact that no one ever dreamed that it would be done, but both Beatrix and Freya knew that the punishment would be worse than a week of detention if they were caught. They would need to be quick.

Freya and Beatrix snuck inside the yellow dorm without much trouble, and Beatrix took in the sights, as she had never been there before. The halls were clean, but they were thin and only had enough room for two people to walk side-by-side. On both sides of the halls, there was a door every eleven feet, signifying that the rooms were big, but nowhere near as luxurious as the blue dorm's rooms.

Freya and Beatrix continued through the halls to the janitorial room, and they finally arrived after several minutes. Luckily, there was nobody walking through the halls at the same time the girls were, and they were able to gain access to the room without gaining any unwanted attention. They entered the room with ease, and they found that it was much larger than they would have thought. There was a wide open space, and there was a fading magic circle on the ground just in front of them. Freya remarked as to what was going on for Beatrix's benefit, "Well, it seems they used a magic circle using their own energy; means that they can summon a spirit without leaving any hard to erase chalk marks."

Beatrix raised her hand to ask a question, a reflex trained in school, "Ah, question. If they summoned the monster here, how could it have made it all the way to the main campus and into the Obelisk Duel Arena without anyone noticing?"

Freya smiled, glad that her knowledge was finally coming in handy, "Well, this was a weak magic circle, it could not contain the monster's spirit, and as such, it was summoned somewhere inside the main campus building. Since there was no one in there, other than you, it was able to run free without any prying eyes. I was just on my way out when

I saw it appear, and run right for you. You probably smelled good, and it wanted to eat you."

Beatrix shivered and complained, "Well, why didn't it try to eat you?! You were closer than I was!"

Freya wagged her finger, "I was _outside_ the door. It couldn't smell me from there."

Beatrix lowered her head, "Yeah."

"Hey, you took care of it, right? No harm, no foul."

Beatrix began looking around for clues, intent on accomplishing her goal of stopping these summoners, "This time. Next time may be different, and that's what we have to stop. Is there anyway you can track the summoners, not the summoned monster?"

Freya shook her head, "No, that's not possible. But there is a clue right were we're standing."

"What's that?"

"The Ra dorm. That tells me that the summoners had to be Ra students; it's not like they could get outfits like we did." Freya said in a proud voice.

Beatrix nodded, but she was not about to congratulate Freya yet, "Good observation, but there is a chance that they were not Ra students, even if it is small. Besides, if they were from this dorm, then that means that they are already in their rooms, and there'd be no way for us to find them."

Freya leaned on an empty red steel drum while she thought of what else she could do, "Hmm, that's true. But there's gotta be something..."

Beatrix looked toward Freya, and heard something other than Freya's voice. She took swift steps toward the drum, and without warning or fanfare, kicked the drum over. Freya, completely surprised by this action, fell to the ground with a thump that would bother her for the next couple of days for sure, but more importantly, exposed someone that did not want to be exposed. A yelp escaped the lips of the yellow clad boy behind the drum, but this was something that Freya did not hear. She simply rose to her feet, and instantly complained about Beatrix's action, "Heeeey, I'm helping you the best I can, and you punish me? I know you're frustrated, but..." She began to say before she realized that there was a straggler from the group that was in there, "Well, well, well, aren't you far away from home. So, are you gonna spill?"

The boy promptly stood up, and was all of a sudden, very confrontational, "Who are you? What are you doing here? This is our business!"

Beatrix's eyes narrowed as she spoke to this boy, "So, there are more of you? Tell me who the others are!"

"I will never sell out the others! Not on your life!"

"Well, maybe you will when I turn you in for endangering the lives of everyone here in the academy! This magic stops, one way or another, it stops!" Beatrix told the boy loudly.

Freya sidestepped closer to the boy and whispered in his ear, "Ya know, this is the girl that beat the stuffing out of Seto Kaiba! Yes, that one legendary duelist. She took out the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Ultimate Dragon, and since enrolling here, has taken down some of the most prevalent duelists around. And now, she's just _starting_ to get mad. Do you want to see her when she's really angry?" The boy was visibly shaking in fear now, "So, are you gonna tell her what she wants to know?"

The boy, having been completely intimidated by the combined efforts of Beatrix and Freya, began telling them everything he could, "I'm just a foot soldier; I don't have any real rank so I don't know much. But I do know that they plan on meeting in the abandoned dorm for another summoning tomorrow."

Beatrix nodded, "Good. Is there anything else you can tell us?"

The boy cowered slightly, "W-well, I can tell you the ranks. We're all based on cards in a regular playing deck. There are foot soldiers numbered one through ten, I just so happen to be number three. We foot soldiers basically perform minor tasks and guard. Above us are the misfits; Joker and Ace, who don't join us in anything we do, but are called in by the face cards to do more important tasks. Finally, there are the founders of the Spirit Callers, the face cards. There are three face cards; Jack, Queen and King. That's all I know, I swear! They don't tell foot soldiers anything."

Beatrix frowned, and started walking toward the exit; Freya following close behind. She opened the door and took a look around; there were several people out and about. It was dinner time, and everyone was headed toward the cafeteria to get some food. Under this guise, they would have no problem getting out of the dorm, "Do yourself a favour: get out of this organization. When I topple this thing over, the students responsible will be expelled, foot soldier or not. This is your only warning." With that, Beatrix and Freya both disappeared in the crowd.

After that event, Beatrix and Freya found the two yellow students that had helped them get uniforms. They were beginning to get impatient, and it showed on their faces. They wanted to eat before it got too late, and the girls could sympathize; they were not going to make it in time for their meal. Beatrix knew that it would be cruel to hold the two boys away from their meal just because they would miss theirs, so she gave them their uniforms as quickly as possible and bid them farewell.

Beatrix lead the way back to the girl's dorm, Freya followed not too far behind; not because she was being lead, but because she was tired and could not walk as fast as Beatrix, who had seemed to have gained an energy boost from the whole ordeal. Both of their stomachs were rumbling, but neither girl was about to complain about it. They made the decision to go after the Spirit Callers, so they had to accept the consequences. Beatrix, more than Freya, was ready to take these consequences, and as such she was not even thinking of food, whereas her friend could not help but think of all the food they were missing at that very moment. By the time they arrived at the lake in front of the girl's dorm, the dining hall had closed and all they had to look forward to was a long hard canoe ride back to their dormitory.

Beatrix had her head down in thought; she thought about the day's events, about the Spirit Caller organization, and about the path that lay in front of her. She knew that she would have to find these face cards, but she had no idea on how she was going to stop them. Would she duel them? Would that even accomplish anything? Would she have to drag someone like Dr. Crowler to their headquarters, if they even had one, and show them definite proof of their existence? Maybe the Spirit Callers were prepared for this encounter, and if so, how prepared were they? So many unanswered questions, but there was no time to worry about that. Beatrix had to stop them; it was like a call to duty within her own soul. Sure, she could ignore it, and lead a normal life, but it was not like that for her. Her stomach turned at the slightest hint of the thought, or it could have been the lack of food in her gut, but the feeling was still there. The gauntlet had been laid down, and she had picked it up, almost instinctively. It was truly her lot in life to stick her neck out for others, because if she did not, who would?

By the time the dock came into view, Freya saw the visage of a man standing just before it. As he came into view, Freya could see that it was Earole, their headmaster. She ran ahead, and when she did, Beatrix picked up her head to see her headmaster. He was waiting for them to arrive, and Beatrix and Freya could see that he was smiling, "Well, so you're finally here? I got worried when I heard from Amada Kai that you were not at the dining hall. Come, I thought you'd be hungry, so I have a small meal prepared for you."

Beatrix and Freya both smiled back at their headmaster, "Thank you Mr. Earole." They both said in unison, and the three went off to eat.

The day's events were indeed strange ones, and they set Beatrix on a path she never expected she would be on, but it was an important part of her life. While she did not yet know it, she would find that the road ahead of her would be much more wondrous, and much more dangerous than she could possibly imagine. This was no mere school, this was Duel Academy.

Free Talk: Okay, a fairly short turn compared to the other turns, but it's fairly important. While the meat and potatoes of a Yu-Gi-Oh! episode, the duel, is missing, I needed this turn to set up events down the road. The duel with the Giant Rat was not supposed to be a long and/or intriguing duel, it just needed to show two things: Beatrix can be dominating, and that monster spirits were being summoned. I mean, come on! A Giant Rat really wouldn't be that good of a duelist after all, eh? Anyway, despite the short duel, I hope you all enjoy Turn 5 and have a good day. Remember: fair play, fair duel.

Today's Strongest Card

Revival of the Light/Normal Spell Card

Discard 1 LIGHT attribute Fairy type monster in your hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon a LIGHT attribute Fairy type monster in your Graveyard (excluding the card discarded to use this effect).


	6. Turn 6

Turn 6: Allegiance to the Strong – Natural Selection

In one of the many Ra Yellow dorm rooms, a boy with red hair wearing a tattered and torn uniform sat in front of his computer monitor. It was the calling feature on the computer that allowed students to converse back and forth with crystal clear video. The person he was talking to was an expert hacker, and was able to not only distort his voice but was able to make the picture so grainy it would be impossible to tell who it was.

"I have caught wind of a little rat who is trying to complicate things for us. Hunter, you have done so good for us in the past, I expect you to do well for us now." Came the heavily modified voice of the person on the other end of the line.

Hunter leaned back in his chair and yawned, he had been bored with the assignments that the face cards had been giving him lately, "Yeah, sure King, just send me the dossier."

The noise of Hunter's printer filled the room as it went to work on the small bio on his next target. It was Hunter's policy that the best way to start a duel was to first know the opponent, and so far it was a good policy. The printer stopped at one page; quite a bit shorter than the previous dossiers that had been sent to him from the higher ups. He read through it carefully, noting his opponent's accomplishments and deck. He smiled as he mulled over his target's name, "Beatrix Sorrowtine, eh? Quite the rat you want eliminated."

"Yes, but she is nothing more than a rat. Take care of her Hunter." King replied, and then the screen went blank.

Hunter looked back down at Beatrix's profile, "Yeah, you are the prey this hunter's been looking for, for a long time."

Beatrix was napping peacefully in her room after a long night of investigating the Spirit Callers with Freya. Freya said that knowing more about the magic that they were using would help shed some light as to their location, but it was a big waste of time. Still, Beatrix did learn quite a bit about the spirit world, more than she wanted to know, but it was still important. At that moment, Beatrix was dreaming about playing Duel Monsters in the professional league, her opponent was a strange character in a suit of which she could not remember the name of. Her phone went off just before she was about play Voltanis the Adjudicator, and she awoke with a start. She rubbed her eyes as she grabbed for her cell phone, "Who?" She asked tiredly.

Freya's hyperactive voice came from the other end, "Hey, Beatrix, still sleeping from last night's history session? Pfft, lightweight. Anyway, I found out some more information; meet me at the usual place. 'Kay bye!"

Beatrix closed her tired eyes and complained, "I was not aware there was a 'usual place'..." She quickly guessed the place, and ran off, hoping that it was the right place. It took her a half hour, but Beatrix finally arrived in front of the school. She stopped just in front of the door and looked around, annoyed that she could not find Freya, "Geez, you don't just tell someone to meet you at a place and not set where it is! Sometimes Freya can drive me crazy."

"That should have proved to be an easy task." Came a listless voice from behind Beatrix.

All of Beatrix's hairs stood on end, she hated it when people snuck up behind her, and the owner of that particular voice was one she had not heard in a while, "Ah! Candace, why'd you sneak up on me like that?"

Candace looked at Beatrix, "I didn't, but you're so inattentive that it's hard not to sneak up on you."

Beatrix groaned, "Ohhh, don't play this game with me; not now okay?"

Candace's face did not change, "So you don't have anything to do with a pathetic fiend attacking me today?"

Beatrix forgot her fatigue when Candace mentioned the fiend, "You were attacked too?!" She blurted out as she grabbed hold of the other girl's shoulders. Upon Beatrix's grabbing her, Candace shot her rival the hardest glare she had ever given anyone, and it was enough to get Beatrix to let go of her, "Uh, sorry. But you were attacked by a monster? Blast; that means they're still at it!"

Candace sighed, "More like I attacked it. That thing didn't stand a chance. Tell me everything you know about this; you seem to know what's going on."

Beatrix smiled and wagged her finger in front of Candace's face, "Uh-uh-uuh, you have to say please to get what you want." Candace simply looked at Beatrix with those intimidating eyes of hers. Beatrix waited for a moment, but then realized that Candace was not going to say please even if her life depended on it. Since she thought it would be best to have Candace as an ally, she decided to tell her everything she knew about the current situation.

She told her about the monster that attacked her, about the Spirit Callers, and her resolve to stop them. Candace simply stood where she was, absorbing the information, her expression not changing at all during the entire story. Beatrix looked for some sort of affirmation to be visible on Candace's face, even though she knew better. After a minute, Candace sighed and told Beatrix what she thought, "It all sounds a little fantastical, but I can't deny that an imp attempted to kill me. I want to see those who are responsible burn."

Beatrix smiled, "Not exactly the reason why I'm going after them, but it would be nice to have a little more help." She said as she held her hand out to Candace.

Candace looked down at Beatrix's hand, and then looked back up, "No, I'll get revenge on my own. I know how to get information around here." She said as she walked past Beatrix, on her own path to getting to the bottom of this Spirit Caller organization.

Beatrix put her hands to her mouth to amplify her voice, "Way to treat someone who's helping you!" She said in a half-annoyed half-joking tone of voice.

Candace put her right hand in the air as a way of dismissing Beatrix's comment, and as she did, in a flash, somebody grabbed her and pulled her into the nearby forest. Beatrix's eyes widened in surprise as her rival disappeared from sight, but she was not about to let Candace's assailant go without a chase. She still needed to meet with Freya, but Freya could wait. Beatrix took off after Candace's kidnapper with all the speed she could muster. Oddly enough, the kidnapper seemed to encourage Beatrix' pursuit, "That's right, run this way! Come on, come on; don't fall behind." Along with the kidnapper's words, Candace could be heard protesting her dilemma and coughing in rage.

In a dark and unkempt room, a third year Obelisk Blue student is standing amongst some books and scribbles on the floor. The scribbles were attempted and failed summoning circles, circles that had been written years ago by students who had summoned a spirit. He had short brown hair that was combed back neatly, and was wearing thin glasses. He was talking on a cell phone with a strange device attached which was used to distort his voice, "A rat convention you say? Dispose of them both then."

A strong female voice could be heard from the doorway, "So you got Hunter on them, eh King? Not taking any chances I see." She said sarcastically.

King turned his attention to the door, "Ah, Queen, so you got my message."

"Yes, you're crummy circles are drawing you too much attention, and now I learn that you have Hunter on the job. Why call me?"

"I haven't any confidence in Hunter; he is merely a diversion tactic. I have Ace spying on them now, he will report to me what their weaknesses are, and if the time comes, we will deal with them. As for why I called you here; you know of the Kelsar hypothesis, right?"

"Of course, it's the symbol in the upper right corner of the summoning circle. What about it?"

"There's something not right with it, I was hoping you would have some sort of input. Jack is still working on the lower right corner now, and I can't bounce ideas off of him."

Queen sighed, "Well, I have tutor duties to report to very soon, so you're gonna have to wait, but try turning Kelsar upside down. You might learn something valuable."

King put his hand under his chin while he though of what Queen had said, "A reverse Kelsar, ingenious. Well, go to your tutor job, we can't have people getting suspicious."

Back in the forest, Hunter stopped at the edge of the island; a precariously tall cliff with wicked jagged rocks at the bottom. Truly a place of no escape, but that was the way he intended it. He put Candace down, who proceeded to berate him, "So now you're trapped; what was the whole point of this charade?"

Hunter smiled as Beatrix came out of the forest, and stopped just in front of them, "Ah, so you finally made it." He told her as he pressed a button on a remote control on his belt. Without warning, a strange gun popped up from off the cliff, and pointed right at Candace. A silent swooping noise came from the gun and a net shot forth and wrapped around the sickly girl. Candace fell to the ground with a thud. Hunter laughed triumphantly, "That's one down, now it's time for the other." He said as the gun automatically moved to point at Beatrix.

Beatrix held her right arm up, which had a Duel Disk on it, and proclaimed, "I challenge you to a duel! As a duelist and a man, you have to accept!"

Hunter snapped his fingers and pressed a button on his remote control, which turned off the sentry gun, "Darn, you got me there." He said with a strange sense of glee, after all, he had wanted this duel, "When I win, I'm gonna take you both to King."

Beatrix's Life Points: 4000

Hunter's Life Points: 4000

"Well, if I win, you're going to tell me all you can about the Spirit Callers and let Candace go!" Beatrix proclaimed as she swiped six cards from her deck, "I summon Disciple of the Forbidden Spell in attack mode, and set one card face-down. What's your move kidnapper?"

A flash of light signalled the summoning of the Disciple of the Forbidden Spell. The warrior held his katana in front of him in one hand, and had a large clay jug on his right shoulder. The green haired man grunted as he awaited the opposition.

Disciple of the Forbidden Spell ATK 1700 DEF 800

Hunter frowned, "Please, kidnapper is such a bad word. I prefer to be called Hunter, thank you very much!" He said as he drew his card, "I set two cards face-down; one a monster, and the other a trap. Your turn little missy."

Beatrix snorted as she drew her card, "Well I prefer to be called Beatrix. Now, Disciple of the Forbidden Spell will attack your face-down monster!"

The swordsman ran up to the horizontal face-down card, and slashed it with his deadly blade, neatly slicing it in two. The hologram of the card's two halves then shattered, and the visage of a flying squirrel could be seen flinching and then shattering as well. Hunter laughed and patted his chest, "Thank you. By destroying Nimble Momonga, I gain a thousand life points and then I get to summon two more from my deck in defense mode!"

Hunter's Life Points: 5000

Candace, who had since given up on trying to escape her bonds, said calmly, "Way to play the hero Beatrix; let your opponent get the upper hand."

Beatrix smiled confidently, "Way to play the strong silent type; by getting captured and not shutting up."

Candace closed her eyes, "Touché"

Hunter drew his card, "Stop babbling like ninnies, and let's get back to the duel. I summon Dire Tiger in attack mode!"

A large tiger appeared before Hunter; its claws were longer and thicker than a regular tiger's, and its head was massive. The beast let out a threatening roar that caused birds to take off from the surrounding trees in panic. The tiger leered at Beatrix's warrior, almost as if it were imposing on its territory.

Dire Tiger ATK 1800 DEF 1200

Hunter then took his deck out of his Duel Disk, and began looking through it, "Also, when Dire Tiger is summoned, I can take a Dire Bear from my deck and add it to my hand." He found his card, added it to his hand, and shuffled his deck, "Now, I'll switch my Nimble Momongas to attack mode, and let my beasts feast on your life points! Dire Tiger, attack Disciple of the Forbidden Spell with Feral Claw!"

Dire Tiger took off like a bullet, but just as it was about to lay its massive paws on her monster, Beatrix whipped her hand to the side, "I'm afraid there'll be no feast, because I activate Radiant Mirror Force! Since all three of your monsters are in attack mode, they'll all be destroyed!" She said as her trap card rose on the field for all to see.

A transparent barrier of light surrounded the Disciple of the Forbidden Spell, and Dire Tiger bounded off of it, and collided with Hunter's other two monsters. A resulting explosion caused Hunter to raise his arms over his head, and when he looked back, all three of his monsters were gone. He was not done, however, "I activate a trap card of my own! It's called Running Through the Forest, and it allows me to special summon a beast if one is destroyed by a card effect, like your Radiant Mirror Force; so now, I can summon that Dire Bear of mine!"

At that moment, a huge bear appeared on Hunter's side of the field. It stood on its hind legs, because if it stood on all fours, it would not fit between Hunter and Beatrix. The creature stood at twelve feet tall, and had sickle-like claws that appeared like they could tear any creature apart.

Dire Bear ATK 1900 DEF 1600

Hunter pointed his finger at Beatrix's monster, "Dire Bear, attack Disciple of the Forbidden Spell!"

The huge lumbering bear took slow and careful steps to Beatrix's monster; a truly agonizing process, but eventually the bear came close enough to the Disciple of the Forbidden Spell to attack. The bear lashed out with its claw, which caused the swordsman to promptly shatter. A huge gust of wind came off from the Dire Bear's paw, and struck across Beatrix's chest.

Beatrix's Life Points: 3800

"I end my turn." Hunter said sinisterly.

Beatrix bent over, clutching her chest, before drawing her card. She then instantly slapped a monster down on her Duel Disk, "I summon another Disciple of the Forbidden Spell, but this time, because I have one in the grave, I can choose an attribute, and if my disciple attacks a monster of that attribute, it is destroyed. I choose Earth, so now my disciple can attack your Dire Bear without fear! Disciple of the Forbidden Spell, destroy Dire Bear with Forbidden Energy Blast!"

Beatrix's new Disciple of the Forbidden Spell got on one knee, and held his jug over his should like a bazooka. He took careful aim at the huge target before him, and then spoke some strange magical words. A circle of white magical energy surrounded the opening of the jug, and a bright violet beam of magical energy burst forth from the jug, and struck the gigantic bear on the chest. The bear roared in pain, and eventually shattered.

Hunter covered his head with one arm as wind rushed past him, and when he recovered, in one swift motion, he grabbed his deck, "Due to Dire Bear's effect; if it is destroyed I can special summon one Dire Lion!" A huge lion shined to life in front of Hunter, a large creature that was fifteen feet long, but not as big as the beast it replaced. The Dire Lion had spines protruding from its spine, and had extremely sharp claws.

Dire Lion ATK 2000 DEF 1500

"Man, where are all these beasts coming from; the woodworks?" Beatrix asked; she was joking around, but she knew that this was serious business; her opponent kept getting monsters out as fast as she was destroying them and worse yet, they were getting stronger every time.

Candace rolled her eyes, "That's it; I don't want to be rescued any more. Just take me away; far away from this idiot." She said in a monotone voice.

Beatrix winced, "Ow that hurts Candace. Anyway, I end my turn."

Hunter swiped a card from the top of his deck, "I set a card face-down, and have Dire Lion attack Disciple of the Forbidden Spell!"

The Lion turned its body quickly to the side so that it could swipe its lethal claws across Disciple of the Forbidden Spell's chest. The man yelled in pain as he shattered, but the lion's claws did not stop there, it continued straight for Beatrix. The girl dropped to a knee because of the pain, but soon rose to her feet.

Beatrix's Life Points: 3500

"I'll end my turn here." Hunter says, watching Beatrix like a cougar watches its prey.

Beatrix drew, "I summon The Creator Incarnate!" A man in golden armour appeared before Beatrix, "He is a special monster whom I can tribute to special summon The Creator from my hand!" Suddenly, The Creator Incarnate held his right hand out in front of him, and a glowing white energy covered his entire body. The man shined out of existence, and was replaced by a huge golden statuesque creature whose body crackled with electricity. The Creator stood in front of Beatrix between her and the Dire Lion, who looked like a kitten next to the massive forger of life.

The Creator ATK 2300 DEF 3000

"Next, I'll use The Creator's effect to discard Bountiful Artemis to revive Disciple of the Forbidden Spell!" Beatrix said as her proud warrior shined to a new life, "And since it worked out so well last time, I'm going to choose Earth! Now, Disciple of the Forbidden Spell, destroy Dire Lion with Forbidden Energy Blast!" Disciple of the Forbidden Spell got to one knee again, and fired a similar blast of violet magic that destroyed Hunter's Dire Lion.

A mechanism within Hunter's Duel Disk hummed to life, and a card slid out of his graveyard. Hunter took it, and told Beatrix why he was able to do that, "Dire Lion's effect, when it is destroyed, I can special summon a dire animal to my side of the field, and I choose Dire Tiger!" The large tiger appeared on Hunter's field again, and roared at Beatrix for having the audacity to destroy it.

"It won't be around long though, because I'll have The Creator attack it. Spark of Uncreation!" Beatrix says.

Hunter pressed a button on his Duel Disk, a smug smile was on his face, "No, that won't be happening. My Nightmare Wheel will bound your Creator to the device, and deal five hundred damage to you during every one of my standby phases!" As The Creator pointed its palm at Dire Tiger, a horrifying torture wheel appeared behind it and black leather straps lashed out at the great spirit. The Creator put up a valiant struggle, but was overcome by the Nightmare Wheel, and was latched down onto it.

Beatrix looked at her bound monster, a look of determination on her face, "Don't worry, I'm getting you out of there! I activate Breakthrough Light! This spell card allows me to tribute my Disciple of the Forbidden Spell to destroy your Nightmare Wheel!" Hunter's smug look faded when the Disciple of the Forbidden Spell turned into an arcing light that struck and dismantled the Nightmare Wheel. The torture device fell to pieces, and The Creator broke the now weak bonds that once held him, "Breakthrough Light is a normal spell card, so I can't attack anymore this turn, so it's your go Hunter."

Candace looked up at Hunter, "That was a good move kidnapper. Not only did she eradicate your worthless Nightmare Wheel, but she got rid of the only monster you could attack to damage her on your turn. What are you going to do now?" She taunted emotionlessly.

Hunter whipped his head to Candace, "The name's Hunter! I'll deal with her, just you wait!" He said, although he was actually not certain at this point, but all he could do was draw. His arrogant smile returned to his lips when he saw what card he drew, "I activate the field spell card Full Moon Night! The full moon revives the fighting spirit that lay dormant in my beast, and transform it into a lycanthrope!" It suddenly became darker, and a perfect round moon appeared in the sky. Hunter's monster's body reacted to the moon, and warped into a new shape, its muscles bulged from the mystic power that lay within it. No longer just a Dire Tiger, this creature now stands on two legs like a human, and howls in primal instinct.

Were Tiger ATK 2000 DEF 1300

"But that's not all; I also equip Were Tiger with Wild Kunai, a weapon that only beast-warriors can use. With it, Were Tiger gains four hundred attack points!" Hunter said as a large knife appeared on Were Tiger's arm; it was tethered to its arm with a chain wrapped around it several times, and the blade extended down the lycanthrope's arm one foot.

Were Tiger ATK 2400 DEF 1300

Hunter then points at The Creator, "Were Tiger, attack The Creator! Wild Fury!"

Hunter's Were Tiger ran over to The Creator with a fury that Beatrix had never seen in a monster before. Drool poured from the lycanthrope's fanged mouth as it approached the massive stone creator of life, and lashed out at it with its extremely sharp claws and kunai weapon. Something that sounded like a grunt came from The Creator as the claws passed through it, and caused it to explode. Beatrix began coughing from all of the smoke.

Beatrix's Life Points: 3400

Hunter pointed at Beatrix, "Hah, you thought I was down and out when you brought out that Creator of yours didn't you? But now I have the upper hand; now you have my were cards to deal with!"

"My turn, draw!" Beatrix said with a confidence that took Hunter aback, "I summon my third and final Disciple of the Forbidden Spell!" The now familiar warrior took his place in front of Beatrix, holding his magical jug over his shoulder, ready to fire upon Hunter's lycanthrope, "With two Disciples in the grave, I can choose two attributes, and I choose Earth and Fire! Now, Disciple of the Forbidden Spell, destroy Were Tiger!"

Hunter was slightly amused by this; of course, he had something up his sleeve that allowed him to retain his composure. Were Tiger exploded as did a lot of his previous beasts from the Disciple's effect, but when it was gone; another beast was in its place. It was a monster Hunter played before, Dire Bear.

Hunter's Life Points: 4500

"When you destroy Were Tiger, I can summon a beast in my graveyard at the price of five hundred life points! Also, since Full Moon Night is on the field, my Dire Bear transforms into Were Bear!" As Hunter explained this, a lumbering behemoth appeared in front of him. Like Were Tiger before it, Were Bear stood like a human, armed with a huge battle axe, and it had the look of the devil in its eyes.

Were Bear ATK 2100 DEF 1400

Beatrix slid a card in her Duel Disk, "I'll set a card and end my turn."

Hunter drew his card, and instantly pointed a finger at the Disciple of the Forbidden Spell, the creature that had been annoying him all duel, "Were Bear, destroy Disciple of the Forbidden Spell with Midnight Horror Axe!" The massive human-animal hybrid charged at Beatrix's fearless warrior, and raised its axe high over his head. Despite having the power to destroy Were Bear if it was attacking, when on defense, he was not so adept, and the lycanthrope's great axe passed through him with little resistance. When the axe struck the ground, Disciple of the Forbidden Spell exploded, catching Beatrix in as well, "Come on! Keep trying to defeat my ruthless beasts! Only peril awaits you!"

Beatrix's Life Points: 3000

Beatrix did not know if she could get out of this situation. So far, Hunter had been playing monsters one after another, each one being more powerful than the last, and always seeming to get out of every pinch she had put him in. The young girl stood there with her recently drawn card to her side; she was thinking about what she would do from there. She put the card in her hand and thought about her strategy from there. She had to find a way to prevent Hunter from bringing out another were creature, which he would inevitably do, or at least some way to benefit from it.

Candace yawned; Hunter's strategy was just too predictable, and she already knew how Beatrix dueled. She had a dull look in her eyes as she struggled a bit in her bonds, "Will you hurry up and crush this cretin?"

Beatrix peeked out from the cards that she was concentrating on, and had an apologetic expression, "Sorry Candace." She said sheepishly.

Hunter stomped in a rage, "Hey, don't treat me like some kind of second-rate villain! I am Hunter; King's problem solver, and ace duelist!"

Candace rolled her eyes, "Please, you keep replacing bad monsters with semi-good monsters without end. As a duelist you rank pretty low; even Beatrix can conjure some pretty imposing monsters."

Beatrix's voice could be heard over Candace's, "Thanks!" She said, but when she realized that Candace was actually insulting her, she quickly added, "Hey!"

Candace continued her speech to Hunter as if she had not heard Beatrix's protest, "I bet you haven't even seen King, or even heard his voice."

Hunter was about to protest when he realized that Candace was right; he had never seen King's face, nor has he even heard his real voice. He shook his head and salvaged what was left of his confidence, "Yeah, well I'm still the great Hunter! I have defeated all of my foes up until now, so I can't lose!"

Beatrix raised her left hand, "Um, you know that this is my turn, right? I thought the unspoken rule was that all speeches were to be made on your own turn. I don't agree with Candace; you are a good duelist. Even still, I have to duel for not only myself, but for Candace who cannot defend herself right now. So it is really me who can't lose this duel." She said with a great determination, "No matter what, I will defeat you Hunter! I summon Majestic Mech – Ohka!"

A bright white light erupted in front of Beatrix, and when it dimmed the visage of a lion could be seen. It was a large and proud lion of the heavens; a white mechanical appearing creature with red outlines. It roared in its resolve to help Beatrix, a terrifyingly loud roar that even the Were Bear could not withstand.

Majestic Mech – Ohka ATK 2400 DEF 1400

"Hey, how come you can summon a level five monster?" Hunter protested instantly.

Beatrix was glad to answer her opponent's question, "Ohka's effect; I can summon it without tributes, but it returns to heaven at the end of my turn. Now Ohka, destroy Were Bear! Roar of Benevolence!"

The heavenly lion's head reared back, and let loose with a deafening roar whose sonic energy could be seen. The twirling transparent force struck Hunter's Were Bear, and as it did, the giant bear sank to its knees, dropping its axe to hold its ears. The man-beast shattered after a few seconds of this assault, and then Hunter felt the sting of the attack.

Hunter's Life Points: 4200

Without rhyme, reason, nor warning, Freya burst forth from the forest. She had various sticks and leaves sticking out of her hair, and she was out of breath. She panted several times and then pointed her finger at Beatrix, "You had to come this far? This far?! What are you doing anyway...hey a duel! Did I miss anything?"

Beatrix sighed and shook her head, Candace groaned in annoyance, and Hunter simply blinked in confusion. Beatrix then asked her friend, "How did you find us?"

Freya smiled and made a "V" sign with her index and middle fingers, "GPS location transmitter in your phone! How else?"

Candace was reaching her wits end with all of these slow downs. She spoke loudly in a voice that demanded respect, and her head darted between all of the people there, "Beatrix, finish your turn already. Kidnapper, hurry up and lose. Whoever you are, don't interrupt."

Beatrix shook her head with a smile on her face, but before she could do anything else, Hunter spoke up, "Now that I can actually talk, I'm going to use Were Bear's ability. When he is destroyed by battle, I can special summon a beast in my hand, and I choose Dire Lion! Because of the effect of Full Moon Night, Dire Lion undergoes a metamorphosis that makes him into a lycanthrope! Meet my Were Lion!" Another large humanoid figure appeared before Hunter; a creature with the head and mane of a lion. This powerful creature had its large arms crossed over its chest.

Were Lion ATK 2200 DEF 1200

Beatrix shot her arm into the air, "I was waiting for you to do that! I activate Calling Allies! With this card I can special summon fairies in my deck whose total levels are equal to your monster; so I summon two Heralds of Green Light and one Herald of Purple Light in defense mode!" The three round fairies shone to life in front of Beatrix, "I'll end my turn with a face-down card." After Beatrix said that, Ohka faded away, and disappeared from sight.

Freya sneaked her way over beside Candace, and crouched down so she could speak with the fallen girl, "So, what happened?"

"Use your imagination." Candace spat back at Freya.

Freya promptly stood up, "Gee, sor-ry."

Hunter drew his card, "I'll attack your Herald of Green Light with Were Lion!" As he said that, the lion uncrossed its arms, and lunged for one of the fairies in front of Beatrix, but before its fist could reach it, Beatrix interrupted, "I activate Holy Retribution! This trap card uses the life force of a light monster to negate your attack, and damage you by an amount equal to your monster's level times two hundred; fourteen hundred!" A wave of light shone from Herald of Green Light, and washed over Were Lion and Hunter. When the blinding light dissipated, both monsters were gone, and Hunter was kneeling and groaning after taking such a hard hit.

Hunter's Life Points: 2800

"Now that a counter trap has been activated, I can tribute all of my fairies in order to special summon Voltanis the Adjudicator!" Beatrix said as her family's guardian descended to Earth in front of her, "With Voltanis' effect, I can destroy Were Lion and Full Moon Night. Light of Judgement!" Voltanis raised his staff above his head. A holy power shone from its end, and shot down, raining destruction down upon Hunter.

Hunter waved his arm to the side, "When Were Lion is destroyed all cards on your side of the field are destroyed; so say goodbye to your Adjudicator!"

Beatrix looked on in horror as her protector shattered, leaving her defenseless, "No, Voltanis! I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

Hunter laughed with confidence, "Don't feel too bad, because you can still draw two cards." Beatrix had a vacant look in her eyes, but she drew her cards, "Also, because a beast-warrior was destroyed while he was in my hand, I can special summon Enkidu, Lord of the Wild Beasts in attack mode!" At that, a large fist shot through the Earth in front of Hunter, and a huge shirtless man dug his way onto the field.

Enkidu, Lord of the Wild Beasts ATK 2500 DEF 2200

Hunter pointed at Beatrix, "Now direct attack on Beatrix!"

Enkidu ran towards Beatrix, and drove his fist home to knock the young duelist back. Beatrix got up slowly, holding her right shoulder, which was now in pain from the fall. She had two cards to mount a counterattack, but would it be enough? She had very little life points left after that direct attack, and there were not very many options left open to her. Voltanis was gone, and the two cars she had drawn would be no good to her the next turn.

While she was contemplating her imminent defeat, Beatrix's eyes wandered over to Candace. She was already a captive, and despite her strength as a duelist, Hunter was not going to give her the chance to defend her, so if she was to ever escape this perdiciment, Beatrix would have to win this duel. More than that, she could not afford to lose here, and to let the Spirit Callers have their way. She could not lose!

With more determination than she had ever known, Beatrix drew her card, intently focused on her goal. She had to defeat Hunter, she had to save Candace, and she had to bring down the Spirit Callers. She looked at her card, the reward for her determination. Beatrix raised this card in the air, "I activate the spell card Legacy of the Adjudicator! With Voltanis in my Graveyard, I can remove him from play so he'll act as a tribute for a one tribute summon. With this effect, I summon Majestic Mech – Goryu in attack mode!" The spirit of Voltanis appeared before Beatrix, and held his palm open and facing the ground he towered over. A snaking light emerged from his hand, and settled in front of Beatrix. The light took the form of a great wyrm Goryu, lord of the mechs of heaven.

Majestic Mech – Goryu ATK 2900 DEF 1800

Hunter stood in awe of the powerful monster before him, but the knowledge that his life points would not be lowered to zero after an attack by Goryu comforted him, "Heh, she'll destroy Enkidu this turn, but I can always revive him by discarding Enraged Battle Ox my next turn. Then she'll be finished!" He thought.

Beatrix slid another card into her Duel Disk, "I active the magic of another spell card; Helping Hands From Above! This spell allows me to focus the spirit of a departed fairy into Goryu, giving it another attack up to the attack strength of that monster! So I remove Majestic Mech – Ohka from play to give Goryu another attack at twenty-four hundred attack points!"

Hunter let a surprised yelp escape his lips when he heard what Beatrix had told him, "But that would lower my life points to zero!"

"It would! Majestic Mech – Goryu, end Hunter's career with Blinding Light Surge!" Goryu did as Beatrix commanded, and let loose with two massive blasts of pure light energy from the golden cavity that made up its neck at Enkidu. The pressure exerted from the blast knocked Hunter back a few feet.

Hunter's Life Points: 2400

Majestic Mech – Goryu ATK 2400 DEF 1800

Another blast of light came directly at Hunter, completely covering him, and blocking him from sight. Despite the fact that he could not be seen, his agonized scream could still be heard, and it rose above even the roar of Goryu's attack. The light disappeared, and as did the rest of the holograms, and Hunter sank to both of his knees.

Hunter's Life Points: 0

"I-I lost." Hunter said blankly.

Beatrix knew that Hunter was too mentally distraught to move at that moment, so she had great confidence that he would not escape while she untied Candace. Her blue haired rival instantly rose to her feet the second she could, putting Beatrix off balance, and causing her to fall to the ground. Candace made a bee-line for Hunter, who was still off in his own broken world. She tried to get him to talk, but he was too introspective to respond. Beatrix, who had been helped up by Freya, also walked towards her defeated opponent. She offered him her hand, which he refused. Beatrix sighed and said, "Well, I can see how you were undefeated for a while; you're one tough cookie."

Hunter remained on his knees, but lifted his head to speak with Beatrix, "I have no real affiliation with the organization; I just follow the strongest who can promise me more of what I want the most; battle. I may have never met King before, but I know he is strong. You...You might be in his league, in either case, I'll follow you."

Beatrix nodded, "Alright, then tell me everything you can about the Spirit Callers, including their next meeting place if you can."

"They are close to their goal; King probably already has the info he needs to complete his ultimate summoning circle. I was never told anything important like their last meeting place, but I do know where you can find those who do. Ace and Joker, not quite face cards and not quite foot soldiers, but King trusts them. They know where you must go." Hunter tells Beatrix.

Beatrix squatted down so she could meet Hunter's eyes, "Where are they?"

Hunter held Beatrix's gaze, showing that he was not lying, "Duel Academy's basement; tomorrow at nineteen hundred hours."

"Got it." Beatrix said as she walked toward the forest, "Oh, and don't join anymore evil groups. If you do, you'll have me to deal with."

Hunter nodded, "Okay."

Free Talk: Wow, this is the longest turn yet! I'm surprised, when I started writing it; I thought it was going to wind up being rather short, like the one that preceded it. Well, I had fun designing Hunter's Deck, despite the fact that it was going to make a one-time appearance. He even had a card that came after Enkidu, but unforeseen time restraints cut it out of the picture. Oh well, maybe he'll make another appearance after all. One thing I was focused on putting in this Free Talk section all week was informing you all of what the opening theme to Shuffle is! All shows need an opening theme, and Shuffle's is none other than Makka na Chikai! I first heard this as the opening theme to an anime I love called Buso Renkin, and when I read a translation of the lyrics, I knew that this fit Beatrix's character throughout this entire first season perfectly! I'm already working on selecting the opening theme to season two, and you'll learn of it when season two rolls around. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy Turn 6 and Makka na Chikai and have a good day. Remember: fair play, fair duel.

Today's Strongest Card

Legacy of the Adjudicator/Normal Spell Card

Remove from play 1 "Voltanis the Adjudicator" in your Graveyard from play. This turn, you may Tribute Summon a monster assuming that one of the necessary tributes is fulfilled, but you may tribute no other monster for the Tribute Summon. You may use this effect only once during the current duel.


End file.
